Indian Shares Staging Modest Recovery After Early Losses

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are down in negative territory Wednesday morning, extending recent losses, as concerns about U.S. interest rates continue to outweigh recent strong economic data from China.

Technology stocks are weak once again, after having recovered a bit on Tuesday following a setback at the start of the week.

Metal stocks are among the prominent gainers. A few FMCG and PSU bank stocks are trading weak.

The benchmark BSE Sensex, which fell to 59,558.13, is down 85.99 points or 0.14% at 59,641.02. The broader Nifty50 index of the National Stock Exchange is down 19.45 points or 0.11% at 17,640.70, recovering from a low of 17,611.80.

Infosys, HCL Technologies, Mphasis, MindTree and Coforge are down 1 to 2%. L&T Technology Services, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Tata Consultancy Services are lower by 0.7 to 0.9%.

FMCG stocks Marico and McDowell are down 2% and 1.4%, respectively. Tata Consumer Products, Colgate Palmolive, Nestle and Radico are also down in negative territory.

Jindal Steel, up 3.7%, is the top gainer in the Metal Index. National Aluminium is climbing 2.3%, while Tata Steel, SAIL, JSW Steel, Hind Copper and NMDC are gaining 1.3 to 2%. Vedanta is advancing nearly 1%.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance is down more than 3% despite reporting higher earnings. The insurer reported a net profit of Rs 437 crore for the January-March quarter, up 40% from a net profit of Rs 312 crore it posted in the year-ago quarter.

Asian Paints, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and State Bank of India are weak, while Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC, Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries are up in positive territory with modest gains.

The market breadth is fairly strong. On BSE, 1,889 stocks are up in positive territory and 1,247 stocks are weak, while 129 stocks are flat.