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The Sensex and Nifty ended on a flat note on Wednesday with Nifty closed below 10,900, while Sensex finished near day's low point.
The Sensex was up 2.96 points at 36,321.29, while Nifty was up 1.80 points at 10,888.60. About 1,222 shares have advanced, 1,356 shares declined, and 147 shares are unchanged.
Indiabulls Housing, Yes Bank, Wipro, IndusInd Bank and BPCL are the top gainers on the Nifty, while JSW Steel, Bharti Infratel, Bajaj Finance, UPL and Asian Paints are the top losers.
Trade deficit
According to traders, despite weakness in global markets, investor mood on Dalal Street was positive on news that declining imports had narrowed the trade deficit to ten-month low of USD 13.08 billion in December 2018 as against USD 14.2 billion in the same month previous year.
However, gains were capped as exports grew at the slowest pace in three months at 0.34 per cent in December, they added.
“The recent stock market action is indicative of bull market action, shrugging off bad news and moving higher on good news,” said Sunil Sharma, Chief Investment Officer, Sanctum Wealth Management.
With strong top line performance by marquee names in a challenging environment last quarter, and improving macros, the earnings recovery is likely to pick up in the current quarter, barring global surprises, he said, adding “with expectations for a rate cut rising, improving recoveries on bad loans, and rising domestic SIP flows, we expect investors to look past disappointing news flow.”
Strong buying support
On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 159.60 crore Tuesday, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 417.44 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.
The rupee, meanwhile, appreciated 7 paise against the US dollar to 70.98.
The benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.26 per cent to USD 60.48 per barrel.
Global investor sentiment, on the other hand, was cautious after British Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce deal to leave the EU was overwhelmingly rejected by MPs, triggering a no-confidence motion against her government and leaving the country with no plans for Brexit on March 29.
This is the biggest defeat for a sitting British government in history.
Global markets
Globally, elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei shed 0.55 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.21 per cent and Shanghai Composite Index was trading 0.05 per cent lower; while Kospi rose 0.24 per cent in early trade.
On Wall Street, however, Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.65 per cent higher at 24,065.59 points on Tuesday.
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