A divergent trend was witnessed on the bourses in early afternoon trade as the Sensex was trading with small losses after slipping into the red and Nifty held in the positive terrain. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 16.68 points or 0.06% at 29,689.93. The Nifty 50 index was up 5.05 points or 0.05% at 9,203.35. The movement of indices was restricted within a narrow range near the flat line amid lacklustre trade so far during the session.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.17%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.47%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex's gains in percentage terms.
The breadth, indicating health of the market was strong. On BSE, 1,707 shares rose and 932 shares fell. A total of 107 shares were unchanged.
Shares of oil exploration firms gained on higher crude oil prices. Reliance Industries (RIL) (up 0.39%), Cairn India (up 0.08%), Oil India (up 1.47%) and ONGC (up 0.27%) gained. Higher crude oil prices would result in higher realizations from crude sales for oil exploration firms.
Shares of public sector oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) advanced. BPCL (up 3.81%), HPCL (up 1.51%), and Indian Oil Corporation (up 3.01%) edged higher.
Crude oil prices edged higher supported by strong demand and political uncertainty in Syria, although another rise in US drilling activity kept a lid on gains. In global commodities markets, Brent crude oil futures for June settlement was up 21 cents at $55.45 a barrel. The contract had gained 35 cents to settle at $55.24 a barrel during previous trading session.
Cement stocks gained. ACC (up 0.24%), Shree Cement (up 0.89%), Ambuja Cements (up 0.76%) and UltraTech Cement (up 0.01%) gained.
Grasim Industries advanced 1.28%. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
Divis Laboratories rose 4.14% after the company said the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has exempted some more products manufactured at the company's Unit-II at Visakhapatnam from the import alert issued under clauses 66-40 & 99-32 of the FDA regulations. The announcement was made on Saturday, 8 April 2017.
An import alert prohibits the company to manufacture or market that particular drug in the United States, according to the regulator's website.
Last month, Divis Laboratories announced that the USFDA issued an Import Alert 66-40 on 20 March 2017 on the products manufactured at the company's Unit-II at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The agency has exempted the 10 products namely Levetiracetam, Gabapentin, Lamotrigine, Capecitabine, Naproxen Sodium, Raltegravir potassium, Atovaquone, Chloropurine , BOC core succinate and 2, 4-wing active ester, from the import alert, it added.
NMDC rose 0.48% after the company said that its production rose 20% to 34.03 million tonnes and sales rose 24% to 35.62 million tonnes in the financial year ended 31 March 2017 (FY 2017) over FY 2016. This has been highest ever annual ore production and sales of NMDC since inception. The announcement was made during market hours today, 10 April 2017.
Sobha slipped 8.45% to Rs 380.45 after the company said that the promoter Sobha Menon sold 40 lakh shares, or 4.15% stake at price of Rs 414.90 per share. Promoter Sobha Menon held 41.90% stake as per share holding as on 31 December 2016. Adawi Investments Holdings bought 41.60 lakh shares at price of Rs 414.89 per share of the company. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 7 April 2017.
Overseas, most Asian stocks declined as caution prevailed as increased geopolitical risks prompted investors to favour safe-haven bets such as government debt. Top aides to US President Donald Trump differed on Sunday, 9 April 2017. on where US policy on Syria was headed after last week's attack on a Syrian air base, while US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned the strikes were a warning to other nations, including North Korea.
On economic data front in Asia, Japan's current account surplus stood at 2.81 trillion yen ($25.26 billion) in February, finance ministry data showed, the biggest surplus since March 2016. The result is the 32nd straight month of current account surpluses. This February's current account surplus was the largest on record for February.
US stocks closed with small losses on Friday, 7 April 2017, after increased geopolitical concerns amid US air strikes against Syria and weaker than expected nonfarm payrolls data weighed on sentiment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, 7 April 2017, nonfarm payrolls grew by just 98,000 in March, well below expectations, but the unemployment rate fell to a 10-year low of 4.5%.
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