Key benchmarks came off day's low and were trading with minor losses in morning trade. At 10:21 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 23.75 points or 0.06% at 37,828.25. The Nifty 50 index was down 5.45 points or 0.05% at 11,429.65. Trading sentiment was fragile due to negative Asian stocks.
After opening lower, the indices pared losses in morning trade. The Sensex rose 2.86 points, or 0.01% at the day's high of 37,854.86 in morning trade. The index fell 207.03 points, or 0.55% at the day's low of 37,644.97 in morning trade. The Nifty rose 2.8 points, or 0.02% at the day's high of 11,437.90 in morning trade. The index fell 58.15 points, or 0.51% at the day's low of 11,376.95 at the onset of trading session.
Broader market bounced back. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.05%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.32%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1116 shares rose and 973 shares fell. A total of 106 shares were unchanged.
Drug major Sun Pharmaceutical Industries was up 2.22% after the company announced securing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for CEQUA. The announcement was made before market hours today, 16 August 2018. CEQUA (cyclosporine ophthalmic solution) 0.09% is indicated to increase tear production in patients with keratoconjunctivitis sicca (dry eye).
Metal shares declined. Hindustan Zinc (down 4.02%), Vedanta (down 3.35%), Hindalco Industries (down 2.28%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 2.28%), JSW Steel (down 2.16%), Hindustan Copper (down 1.38%), Tata Steel (down 1.27%), Steel Authority of India (down 1.17%) and National Aluminium Company (down 0.57%), edged lower. NMDC was up 0.98%.
FMCG shares rose. Godrej Consumer Products (up 2.75%), Tata Global Beverages (up 0.88%), Marico (up 0.81%), Dabur India (up 0.61%), Britannia Industries (up 0.49%), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (up 0.31%), Colgate Palmolive (India) (up 0.29%), Hindustan Unilever (up 0.22%), Nestle India (up 0.14%) and Bajaj Corp (up 0.05%), edged higher. Jyothy Laboratories (down 0.61%) and Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (down 0.63%), edged lower.
Overseas, Asian stocks declined, tracking overnight fall in the US market. Japan logged a bigger-than-expected trade deficit in July as the cost of energy imports surged, government data showed Thursday. The trade deficit came to 231.2 billion yen ($2.1 billion) following a revised 720.8 billion yen surplus in June, according to a preliminary report by the Finance Ministry. Exports grew 3.9% from a year earlier to 6.75 trillion yen amid an increase in demand for electronic components from the rest of Asia, but were overshadowed by a 14.6% rise in imports to 6.98 trillion yen.
In US, stocks came off intraday lows but still closed lower Wednesday as worries surrounding Turkey's currency crisis and continued trade tensions weighed on investors' confidence. A sharp fall in oil prices sent the energy sector skidding, making it the worst S&P 500 performer.
On the US data front, retail sales rose 0.5% in July. Excluding auto sales, they were up 0.6%. Separately, second-quarter productivity rose 2.9%, the highest rate in more than three years. Output in the second quarter was up 4.8%. The Empire State manufacturing index rose 3 points to 25.6 in August, the New York Fed said Wednesday, topping expectations for a reading of 20.
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