Domestic shares ended with strong gains on Wednesday, tracking firmness in other Asian markets after the US announced a delay in the implementation of tariffs on some Chinese goods. The Nifty closed a tad above 11,000-mark. Gains were supported by strength in metals and banks shares while pharma stocks witnessed selling pressure.

The equity market will remain shut on Thursday, 15 August 2019, on account of Independence Day.

The Sensex rose 353.37 points or 0.96% to settle at 37,311.53. The index jumped 515.45 points, or 1.39% at the day's high of 37,473.61. The index rose 42.61 points, or 0.12% at the day's low of 37,000.77.

The Nifty 50 index rose 103.55 points or 0.95% to settle at 11,029.40. The index rose 152.30 points, or 1.39% at the day's high of 11,078.15. The index rose 9.75 points, or 0.09% at the day's low of 10,935.60.

The broader market was upbeat. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.85%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.41%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1319 shares rose and 1156 shares fell. A total of 140 shares were unchanged.

Among the sectoral indices on the BSE, the S&P BSE Metal index (up 2.68%), the S&P BSE Telecom index (up 2.40%) and the S&P BSE Basic Materials index (up 2.03%) outperformed the S&P BSE Sensex. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Healthcare index (down 0.52%), the S&P BSE Realty index (up 0.45%) and the S&P BSE FMCG index (up 0.61%) underperformed the S&P BSE Sensex.

India's wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation dipped to a 25-month low of 1.1% in July 2019 from 2.0% in June 2019. The all-India general consumer price index (CPI) inflation was steady at 3.15% in July 2019, compared with 3.18% in June 2019.

The drop in retail and wholesale inflation fueled expectations of further rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). So far, RBI has reduced key interest rates by 110 basis points (100 basis points mean one percentage point) in four successive policy reviews. On 7 August, RBI slashed the repo rate by 35 bps, and also lowered its growth forecast for the year by 10 bps to 6.9%.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 71.305, compared with its close of 71.40 during the previous trading session.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for October 2019 settlement was down 75 cents at $60.55 a barrel. The contract jumped $2.73 or 4.66% to settle at $61.30 a barrel during the previous trading session.

Overseas, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note on Wednesday broke below the 2-year rate, a phenomenon heralded as an inverted yield curve. The gap between US 2-year and 10-year bond yields declined to minus 0.45 basis points, the narrowest since June 2007. Yield curve inversion is perceived as a signal of a looming recession.

Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow Jones Industrial Average could fall 246 points at the opening bell today, 14 August.

European stocks edged lower amid weak German GDP data. Germany's gross domestic product fell by 0.1% between April and June, raising fears of a recession for Europe's largest economy.

Asian shares rose across the board on Wednesday, as the US announced a delay in the implementation of tariffs on some Chinese goods while outright removing some items from the tariff list.

China's industrial output rose 4.8% in July as compared to a year earlier, official data showed. Retail sales growth rose 7.6% in July from a year earlier.

Back home, Yes Bank (up 4.01%), Tech Mahindra (up 2.76%) and Hero MotoCorp (up 2.65%) advanced. Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.27%), Tata Motors (down 0.94%) and Asian Paints (down 0.3%) declined.

Drug maker Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries tumbled 4.69% to end at Rs 417.05. On Tuesday, the company announced that its consolidated net profit rose 31.23% to Rs 1,387.48 crore on a 15.70% rise in net sales to Rs 8,259.30 crore in Q1 June 2019 compared with Q1 June 2018.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories fell 1.76% to Rs 2513. With reference to media report captioned Setback for Dr. Reddy's as USFDA hands out complete response letter for NuvaRing, the company clarified that it received a complete response letter (CRL) from USFDA and is preparing its response to the USFDA. NuvaRing is a vaginal ring to prevent pregnancy.

The firm added that receiving a CRL is in the ordinary course of the company's business and hence it does not disclose any CRL from USFDA on any product. However, during its earnings call held on 29 July 2019, the company informed about possible queries from USFDA on NuvaRing.

Metal shares were in demand. Sector bellwether Tata Steel jumped 4.61% to Rs 364.45.

Iron ore miner NMDC gained 3.46%. The company reported its Q1 result on after market hours yesterday. On a consolidated basis, NMDC's net profit rose 21.1% to Rs 1171.56 crore on a 34.8% rise in the net sales to Rs 3263.74 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. Consolidated EBITDA rose 28% to Rs 1989 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. However, EBITDA margin contracted to 61% from 64%.

Nalco declined 2.45%. The firm's consolidated net profit dropped 84.4% to Rs 97.87 crore on a 29.9% decline in net sales to Rs 2084.08 crore in the recently concluded quarter ended 30 June 2019 over its previous corresponding period. The result was announced by the company after close of trading hours yesterday, 13 August 2019.

ONGC declined 1.21%. The state-run oil major's consolidated net profit fell 19.39% to Rs 6,693.61 crore on 0.77% decline in net sales to Rs 109,514.82 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. On a standalone basis, ONGC's net profit fell 3.9% to Rs 5,904.25 crore on 2.4% decline in net sales to Rs 26,554.74 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. The crude oil price realization fell 7.3% to $66.30 per barrel in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. The crude oil price realization (joint venture) fell 1.8% to $66.78 per barrel in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. The stock

State-run coal miner Coal India fell 1.62%. The company reported its quarterly earnings after market hours yesterday. The company's consolidated net profit rose 22.27% to Rs 4629.67 crore on 3.64% rise in net sales to Rs 23223 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018.

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