The market firmed up further and hit fresh intraday high in morning trade. At 10:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 125.33 points or 0.36% at 34,470.24. The Nifty 50 index was up 22.45 points or 0.22% at 10,452.80. Gains were triggered by bargain hunting following a steep sell off in the previous session.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1045 shares rose and 942 shares fell. A total of 109 shares were unchanged.
Metal shares were mixed. Steel Authority of India (up 1.24%), Tata Steel (up 0.81%), Hindustan Copper (up 0.50%), Hindustan Zinc (up 0.26%) and JSW Steel (up 0.06%), edged higher. National Aluminium Company (down 0.14%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 0.53%), Hindalco Industries (down 0.67%), NMDC (down 0.97%) and Vedanta (down 2.28%), edged lower.
Most pharmaceutical shares rose. Cadila Healthcare (up 2.32%), Strides Shasun (up 2.25%), Divi's Laboratories (up 1.52%), Wockhardt (up 1.36%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.11%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.01%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.98%), Cipla (up 0.76%) and Lupin (up 0.24%), edged higher. Piramal Enterprises (down 0.11%), IPCA Laboratories (down 0.13%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 0.14%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.76%) and Alkem Laboratories (down 1.51%), edged lower.
Tata Motors lost 5.90% after consolidated net profit dropped 49.84% to Rs 2175.16 crore on 18.33% rise in total income to Rs 91644.49 crore in Q4 March 2018 over Q4 March 2017. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 23 May 2018.
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman said that JLR delivered profitable growth despite challenging market conditions. The company invested for growth, launched new products and established landmark partnerships. In the domestic business, the company has gained market share in both CV and PV with strong improvement in profitability and positive cash flows.
Tata Motors' subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is the UK's largest automotive manufacturer, built around two iconic British car brands: Land Rover, the world's leading manufacturer of premium all wheel-drive vehicles; and Jaguar, one of the world's premier luxury sports saloon and sports car marques.
Closing net debt was Rs 39977 crore compared to Rs 27485 crore as at 31 March 2017, reflecting negative free cash flow at JLR with continued high investments and lower sales growth. Net Automotive debt rose to Rs 13,889 crore from 7401 crore as at 31 March 2017.
Rupa & Company gained 3.73% after net profit jumped 70.47% to Rs 39.89 crore on 10% rise in total income to Rs 420.70 crore in Q4 March 2018 over Q4 March 2017.
On the political front, Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Kumaraswamy took oath as Karnataka chief minister on Wednesday, 23 May 2018. The southern state got its second CM in a week after BJP's BS Yeddyurappa resigned moments before floor test in the Karnataka Assembly on last Saturday, 19 May 2018.
Kumaraswamy was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Vajubhai Vala in front of the Vidhana Soudha. Following Kumaraswamy, senior Congress leader G Parameshwara took oath as Karnataka's deputy CM. 22 of Karnataka's 34 ministries will be from the Congress while the JD(S) will head the 12 others. The portfolios will be decided after the floor test which is reportedly scheduled on Friday.
Overseas, most Asian shares declined as the trade dispute between the US and China remained in focus. US stocks closed higher Wednesday, after the minutes from the Federal Reserve's 2 May 2018 meeting appeared to have reassured investors that the central bank will not be too aggressive with raising interest rates. Stocks were under pressure earlier as geopolitical and trade concerns continued to dent investor sentiment.
The US Department of Commerce started an investigation into automobile imports to determine whether they threaten to impair the national security of the United States. The new US probe will be carried out under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. That section of the law authorizes the secretary of Commerce to determine the effects of imports of any article on the national security of the United States.
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve officials would be content to let inflation briefly run above their 2% target as the economy continues to recover, according to minutes from the central bank's most recent meeting. Following the May 1-2 session, the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said it was not raising rates yet but added the word symmetric to describe its inflation goal. The summary released Wednesday indicates a substantial level of debate over how the Fed should approach inflation. The minutes also pointed to an interest rate hike at the June meeting amid debate over how close the Fed might be getting to the end of this rate-hiking cycle
On the US data front, the IHS Markit purchasing managers index for May inched up to 56.6 from 56.5 in the previous reading. Separately, Markit's PMI for services rose to 55.7 from April's 54.6. New-home sales came in at a 662,000 seasonally adjusted rate in April.
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