Key indices were trading near flat line in morning trade. At 10:18 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 11.99 points or 0.03% at 38,908.62. The Nifty 50 index was down 2.10 points or 0.02% at 11,736.40. Traders booked profits after recent gains, which were backed by favourable global cues.
After a volatile opening, indices were almost flat in morning trade. The Sensex rose 93.02 points, or 0.24% at the day's high of 38,989.65 in early trade. The index fell 53.84 points, or 0.14% at the day's low of 38,842.79 in early trade. The Nifty rose 14.70 points, or 0.13% at the day's high of 11,753.20 in early trade. The index fell 22.70 points, or 0.19% at the day's low of 11,715.80 in early trade.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.85%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.48%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1226 shares rose and 838 shares fell. A total of 119 shares were unchanged.
IT major Wipro was down 0.34%. The company announced before market hours today, 29 August 2018, that it has been awarded a multi-year business process services engagement and chosen as a finance transformation partner by Falck. Headquartered in Denmark, Falck is a leading international supplier of ambulance services, employee health care and roadside assistance and is active in 35 countries, worldwide and has over 37,000 employees. As part of the contract, Wipro will help transform Falck's finance operations through its enterprise operations transformation model.
Telecom major Bharti Airtel was up 0.89%. Bharti Telemedia, a subsidiary of the company, has been granted the approval dated 28 August 2018 from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for transfer of its 15% stake to an affiliate of Warburg Pincus. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 28 August 2018.
Most metal shares rose. Jindal Steel & Power (up 2.49%), National Aluminium Company (up 2.47%), Vedanta (up 1.76%), Hindustan Copper (up 0.99%), Steel Authority of India (up 0.19%) and Hindalco Industries (up 0.15%), edged higher. Tata Steel (down 0.53%), NMDC (down 0.64%) and Hindustan Zinc (down 0.89%), edged lower.
JSW Steel was up 2.58%. Lupin was down 0.61%. JSW Steel will be included while Lupin will be removed from the National Stock Exchange's benchmark index Nifty 50 from 28 September 2018.
FMCG shares were mixed. Britannia Industries (down 1.2%), Dabur India (down 0.53%), Hindustan Unilever (down 0.5%), Marico (down 0.35%), Godrej Consumer Products (down 0.27%) and Colgate Palmolive (India) (down 0.26%), edged lower. Nestle India (up 0.27%), Jyothy Laboratories (up 0.58%), Bajaj Corp (up 0.75%), Tata Global Beverages (up 1.50%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (up 1.95%) and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (up 2.88%), edged higher.
Overseas, most Asian shares were trading higher. Traders were cautious ahead of a looming deadline on tariffs with China.
In US, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq on Tuesday finished at records for a third consecutive session after a measure of consumer confidence hit a nearly 18-year high. However, the market's gains were muted, with indexes closing off of intraday peaks. The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence climbed to 133.4 this month from 127.9 in July.
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