Stocks regained positive zone in afternoon trade. At 13:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 54.02 points or 0.14% at 38,078.34. The Nifty 50 index was up 23.95 points or 0.21% at 11,450.80. Indices opened firmly higher, but pared gains as the session progressed. Benchmarks briefly slipped into negative terrain in early afternoon trade. Broader market reversed early gains. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.07%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.09%. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1032 shares rose and 1487 shares fell. A total of 173 shares were unchanged. Power Grid Corporation of India (up 1.72%), Axis Bank (up 1.68%), Tata Motors (up 1.64%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.5%) and Reliance Industries (up 1.15%) edged higher from the Sensex pack. Maruti Suzuki India (down 2.58%), Hero MotoCorp (down 2.12%), L&T (down 1.89%), Bharti Airtel (down 1.48%) and HCL Technologies (down 1.17%) edged lower from the Sensex pack. Lupin was down 4.32%. The company said that its subsidiary Novel Laboratories Inc. has received a letter from the U.S. FDA classifying the inspection conducted at its Somerset (New Jersey) facility in December 2018 as Official Action Indicated (OAI). The U.S. FDA has stated that this facility may be subject to regulatory or administrative action and that it may withhold approval of any pending applications or supplements in which this facility is listed. The announcement was made on Saturday, 16 March 2019. On the economic front, India's trade deficit plunged 22% to 17-month low of $9.60 billion in February 2019 from $12.30 billion in February 2018. Merchandise exports rose 2.4% to $26.67 billion in February 2019 over a year ago. Merchandise imports dipped 5.4% to $36.26 billion. Oil imports declined 8.1% to $9.38 billion, while the non-oil imports also fell 4.4% to $26.89 billion in February 2019 over February 2018. The share of oil imports in total imports was 25.9% in February 2019, compared with 26.6% in February 2018. Overseas, Asian shares were trading higher on Monday as investors awaited developments on the US-China trade front. US stocks closed higher Friday, buoyed by encouraging headlines on US-China trade negotiations and Chinese assurances of forthcoming economic stimulus. According to reports, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang expressed optimism that a trade deal between China and the US can be achieved that suits both parties. China will stick to its current targeted economic support strategy and resist the temptation to engage in large-scale stimulus like quantitative easing or a massive expansion in public spending, Li Keqiang added. On the US data front, the New York Fed's Empire State index fell to a reading of 3.7 in March from 8.8 in the prior month. US industrial production rose by 0.1% in February. January's figure, however, was raised to show a 0.4% drop. Job openings in the US rose to 7.58 million in January, the third-highest level on record, according to the Labor Department. Consumer sentiment rose in March to 97.8 from 93.8 in February, according to a preliminary reading of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |