Key indices hovered in negative zone in afternoon trade. At 13:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 99.81 points or 0.25% at 39,175.83. The Nifty 50 index was down 27.40 points or 0.23% at 11,759.75.

After opening higher, the key indices reversed trend in morning trade. Sentiment was fragile amid negative cues from other Asian shares. Some range bound trading was witnessed in mid-morning trade. Fresh bout of selling pressure emerged in early afternoon trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.83%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.87%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 781 shares rose and 1597 shares fell. A total of 162 shares were unchanged.

Vedanta (down 3.56%), Yes Bank (down 3.38%), Tata Steel (down 2.45%), IndusInd Bank (down 1.86%) and State Bank of India (down 1.74%), edged lower from the Sensex pack.

Tata Motors (up 3.06%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.55%), Asian Paints (up 0.45%) and TCS (up 0.42%) edged higher from the Sensex pack.

Reliance Industries (RIL) was up 3.01% ahead of its Q4 results today, 18 April 2019. Meanwhile, Reliance Ethane Holding Pte. Ltd. ("REHPL") (incorporated in Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of RIL, having 100% holding in six limited liability companies (LLCs) which own Very Large Ethane Carriers (“VLEC” or the “Vessel”)), Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL) of Japan and a strategic minority investor have signed binding definitive agreements for a strategic investment by MOL and minority investor in the six special purpose limited liability companies (SPVs), each owning a VLEC. The announcement was made yesterday, 17 April 2019.

IT major Wipro rose 1.65% to Rs 285.75. The board of directors of Wipro has approved a proposal to buyback up to 32.30 crore shares of the company for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 10500 crore, being 5.35% of the total paid-up equity share capital, at a price of Rs 325 per share. Members of the promoter and promoter group of the company have indicated their intention to participate in the proposed buyback. The announcement was made after market hours on Tuesday, 16 April 2019.

Wipro's consolidated net profit fell 1.07% to Rs 2,483.50 crore on 1.45% rise in total income to Rs 15915.30 crore in Q4 March 2019 over Q3 December 2018. The result was announced after market hours on Tuesday, 16 April 2019.

Abidali Z. Neemuchwala, CEO and Executive Director, Wipro, said the company has built a strong foundation for growth on the back of healthy order book and continued investments in big bet areas of Digital, Cyber security, Engineering services and Cloud.

In its outlook for Q1 June 2019, Wipro expects revenue from IT services business to be in the range of $2,046 million to $2,087 million. This translates to a sequential growth of -1% to 1% excluding the impact of the divestment of Workday and Cornerstone On Demand business which was concluded in Q4 March 2019. The outlook is based on the following exchange rates: GBP/USD at 1.32, Euro/USD at 1.14, AUD/USD at 0.71, USD/INR at 70.16 and USD/CAD at 1.33

On the political front, voting in the second phase of the 2019 general elections began today, 18 April 2019, with 95 constituencies across 11 states and one Union Territory going to polls.

The 2019 Indian general election, which is scheduled to be held in seven phases, kicked off on 11 April 2019. It will conclude on 19 May 2019. The counting of votes will be conducted on 23 May, and on the same day the results will be declared.

Overseas, European shares drifted lower in early trade on Thursday, as investors cautiously awaited manufacturing data to gauge the health of euro zone economies ahead of the Easter holiday. European markets will remain closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter holiday.

Asian shares traded lower on Thursday. Chinese government data showed the country's economy grew 6.4% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2019, maintaining the pace seen in the last quarter of 2018 as factory output picked up steam.

US stocks closed lower Wednesday as the health-care sector slumped on concerns over potential adverse impact from future policy changes.

The US trade deficit fell 3.4% in February to the lowest level in eight months, the Commerce Department said. Meanwhile, wholesale inventories in the US rose a mild 0.2% in February and sales increased 0.3%.

Meanwhile, most of the US Federal Reserve's 12 district banks reported economic activity expanded at a "slight-to-moderate" pace in March and early April, according to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report, released Wednesday.