Key barometers were trading with small losses in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 45.30 points or 0.12% at 37,979.02. The Nifty 50 index was down 4.65 points or 0.04% at 11,422.20. The Sensex was trading below 38,000 mark. Indices opened firmly higher, but pared gains as the session progressed. Benchmarks briefly slipped into negative terrain in early afternoon trade. After hovering near flat line in afternoon trade, the indices slipped into negative terrain once again. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.30%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.29%. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 1038 shares rose and 1574 shares fell. A total of 166 shares were unchanged. Most private sector banks advanced. City Union Bank (up 1.86%), Axis Bank (up 1.76%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.45%), IndusInd Bank (up 0.80%), HDFC Bank (up 0.40%), ICICI Bank (up 0.21%) and Yes Bank (up 0.16%), edged higher. Federal Bank (down 0.38%) and RBL Bank (down 1.34%), edged lower. Karnataka Bank was up 0.63%. The bank has entered into an agreement with Karvy DigiKormect for total Management of Contact Centre operations. As a part of Transformation journey, the Bank has engaged the services of Karvy DigiKonnect for managing its Contact Centre operations, which will be an effective interface between the Bank and millions of its customers. The announcement was made on Saturday, 16 March 2019. Public sector banks were mixed. Bank of Baroda (up 1.61%), Allahabad Bank (up 0.82%), Bank of India (up 0.81%), IDBI Bank (up 0.58%), Syndicate Bank (up 0.52%), United Bank of India (up 0.47%), Indian Bank (up 0.36%), Canara Bank (up 0.25%) and Union Bank of India (up 0.06%), edged higher. Punjab & Sind Bank (down 0.17%), Punjab National Bank (down 0.29%), Andhra Bank (down 0.39%), Bank of Maharashtra (down 0.45%), State Bank of India (down 0.77%) and Central Bank of India (down 0.88%), edged lower. Most power sector stocks were trading higher. Reliance Power (up 5.01%), Reliance Infrastructure (up 3.12%), Torrent Power (up 2.32%), JSW Energy (up 1.78%), CESC (up 1.52%), GMR Infrastructure (up 0.88%), NTPC (up 0.67%) and NHPC (up 0.6%), edged higher. Tata Power (down 0.95%), Jaiprakash Power Ventures (down 1.03%) and Adani Power (down 1.88%), edged lower. State-run Power Grid Corporation of India was up 1.92%. State-run Coal India was down 0.14%. 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, European stocks were trading higher on hopes that the US Federal Reserve could sound decidedly dovish at its policy meeting later this week. US Federal Reserve will decide on interest rates in its two-day meeting on 19-20 March 2019. The meeting will be associated with a summary of economic projections. The Fed held the target range for the federal funds rate at 2.25-2.5% on 30 January 2019. Asian shares edged higher 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 |