The BSE Sensex ended with modest gains while the Nifty ended with tiny gains. Gains in Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank and ITC boosted indices, while weakness in Infosys and Coal India capped gains.
Indices rose in early trade and advanced further to hit fresh intraday high in morning trade. Benchmarks reversed gains in mid-morning trade. Indices were trading near flat line in early afternoon trade. Indices bounced back sharply and hit fresh intraday high in mid-afternoon trade. Barometers came off day's high in late trade as profit booking emerged at higher levels.
The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 89.32 points or 0.24% to settle at 36,725.42. The index hit high of 36,830.25 and low of 36,590.88 in intraday trade.
The Nifty 50 index rose 5.20 points or 0.05% to settle at 11,058.20. The index hit high of 11,089.05 and low of 11,027.10 in intraday trade.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.34%. The BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.11%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1309 shares rose and 1349 shares fell. A total of 161 shares were unchanged.
Among the sectoral indices on BSE, the S&P BSE Capital Goods index (up 1.51%), the S&P BSE FMCG index (up 0.48%), the S&P BSE Industrials index (up 0.8%) outperformed the Sensex. The S&P BSE Realty index (down 0.67%), the S&P BSE Healthcare index (down 0.94%), the S&P BSE IT index (down 0.7%) underperformed the Sensex.
Axis Bank (up 1.77%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.71%), ITC (up 1.61%), State Bank of India (up 1.26%), Power Grid Corporation of India (up 1.03%) and HDFC Bank (up 0.93%) were the major Sensex gainers.
Coal India (down 3.09%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 1.97%), NTPC (down 1.68%), ONGC (down 1.58%) and Yes Bank (down 1.47%) were the major Sensex losers.
Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) rose 2.76%. The construction arm of L&T has secured orders from clients across varied states in India. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 7 March 2019.
Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) shed 0.31%. The company said that the board of directors of the corporation has approved the payment of interim dividend of Rs 3.50 per share for the financial year ending 31 March 2019. The objective of payment of interim dividend is to distribute dividends received by the corporation from its subsidiary companies during the year to the corporation's shareholders. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 6 March 2019.
Vedanta fell 1.43%. The company said that the board of directors of the company has approved second interim dividend of Rs 1.85 per share for the Financial Year 2018-19. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 6 March 2019.
Telecom major Bharti Airtel fell 0.19%. The company gave further details of its largest capital infusion plan involving a mix of rights issue and perpetual bond issue to raise a total of up to Rs 32000 crore to further bolster its capital structure. The board of Bharti Airtel has approved rights issue to raise up to Rs 25000 crore through issuance of fully paid up shares at a price of Rs 220 per share and to raise an additional Rs 7000 crore via the foreign currency perpetual bond issue.
The entire rights entitlement of promoter and promoter group of approximately Rs 16785.70 crore will be subscribed by them and GIC, with promoter and promoter group subscribing to Rs 11785.70 crore and GIC subscribing Rs 5000 crore by way of renouncement in their favour.
The board has additionally provided an in principle approval for the issuance of a foreign currency perpetual bond of up to Rs 7000 crore ($1 bn), subject to price, market conditions and terms and conditions as acceptable, and such conditions allowing for full accounting equity credit and subject to all applicable laws including under ECB Regulations. The company is in the process of appointing banks to take this forward.
Biocon lost 2.25%. The company said that the USFDA concluded a pre-approval inspection of its insulin drug substance manufacturing facility triggered by a New Drug Application submitted by our insulin AP/customer. The inspection at the Bengaluru facility took place between 25 February 2019 to 5 March 2019, resulting in a Form 483 with six observations. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 6 March 2019.
Nelco rose 1.31% after the company announced securing In-Flight & Maritime Connectivity licence from Department of Telecommunications. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 6 March 2019.
Meanwhile, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its latest interim economic outlook yesterday, 6 March 2019, said that the global economy is slowing and major risks persist, with growth weakening much more than expected in Europe. The OECD projects that the global economy will grow by 3.3% in 2019 and 3.4% in 2020. The outlook and projections cover all G20 economies. Downward revisions from the previous Economic Outlook in November 2018 are particularly significant for the euro area, notably Germany and Italy, as well as for the United Kingdom, Canada and Turkey.
Indian economic growth is seen improving to 7.2% in 2019 and 7.3% in 2020 after growing by 7% in 2018. However, the projections for 2019 and 2020 have been trimmed by 0.10% compared to the November estimate by the OECD. Business confidence and investment remain strong, and activity should benefit from easing financial conditions, lower oil prices, accommodative fiscal policy and recent structural reforms, OECD said in its report.
Overseas, shares in Europe traded lower, while Asian shares ended mixed, following a third consecutive day of losses on Wall Street. Investors are taking a cautious approach as they wait for further details on a possible trade agreement between China and the US.
US stocks slid for a third consecutive session on Wednesday, as investors continue to wait for news of a trade deal between the US and China.
US data released Wednesday showed the country's trade deficit soaring to a 10-year high of $59.8 billion in December. The US trade deficit soared to a 10-year high in 2018 of $621 billion, the Commerce Department said.
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