Stocks hovered in negative zone in early afternoon trade. At 12:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 68.28 points or 0.18% at 38,793.95. The Nifty 50 index was down 30.75 points or 0.26% at 11,635.20. Shares of state-run oil marketing companies fell after Brent crude prices firmed up in international market.
Domestic stocks nudged higher in early trade on positive Asian stocks. A divergent trend was witnessed in morning trade as the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was trading with small gains while the Nifty 50 index was trading with tiny losses. Key indices dipped in negative zone in mid-morning trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was off 0.16%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.18%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1172 shares rose and 1123 shares fell. A total of 151 shares were unchanged.
Tata Motors fell 0.46%. Tata Motors during market hours today, 8 April 2019 said that Jaguar Land Rover total retail sales were 76,895 vehicles in March 2019, down 8.2% compared to sales in March 2018.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries rose 0.05%. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and its subsidiaries and/or associate companies during market hours today announced that INFUGEM (gemcitabine in sodium chloride injection), for intravenous use, is now commercially available in the U.S. INFUGEM, the first chemotherapy product that comes in a premixed, ready-to-infuse formulation, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July 2018 in combination with other drugs for the treatment of breast, ovarian, non-small cell lung cancers, and as a single agent for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Shares of state-run oil marketing companies fell after Brent crude prices firmed up in international market. HPCL (down 3.19%), BPCL (down 1.52%) and Indian Oil Corporation (down 2.09%) edged lower.
Higher crude oil prices could increase under-recoveries of PSU OMCs on domestic sale of LPG and kerosene at controlled prices. The government has already freed pricing of petrol and diesel.
In the global commodities markets, Brent for June 2019 settlement was up 30 cents at $70.64 a barrel. The contract rose 94 cents, or 1.35% to settle at $70.34 a barrel during the previous trading session.
Overseas, Asian shares edged higher on Monday as investors cheered a much-needed rebound in US payrolls, while looking forward to more policy stimulus in China.
U.S. stocks closed higher Friday, as investors cheered a solid jobs report and upbeat comments on prospects for a U.S.-China trade deal.
Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly said in a letter to US President Donald Trump that substantial progress had been made in U.S.-China talks over the past months and called for negotiations to be wrapped up as soon as possible.
March jobs report showed that the U.S. economy added 196,000 new jobs. The Labor Department's official measure of unemployment held steady at 3.8%. Wage growth remained modest, with average hourly earnings rising 4 cents to $27.70, a year-over-year increase of 3.2%, down from 3.4% in February.
On the Brexit front, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is still searching for a new plan to secure a delay to Brexit from EU leaders at a summit on Wednesday. U.K. lawmakers have so far failed to approve a withdrawal agreement, with the world's fifth-largest economy set to leave the bloc on April 12.
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