Shares turned range bound in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 191.22 points or 0.54% at 35,451.76. The Nifty 50 index was up 45.90 points or 0.43% at 10,662.60. Most housing finance stocks declined.

Broader market depicted weakness. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.10%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.37%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1085 shares rose and 1450 shares fell. A total of 128 shares were unchanged.

Auto shares were mixed. Eicher Motors (up 2.74%), Hero MotoCorp (up 1.04%), Bajaj Auto (up 0.64%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.25%) and Escorts (up 0.01%), edged higher. Tata Motors (down 0.39%), TVS Motor Company (down 0.54%), Ashok Leyland (down 0.8%) and Maruti Suzuki India (down 1.04%), edged lower.

Most housing finance stocks declined. Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (down 7.51%), Indiabulls Housing Finance (down 5.5%), LIC Housing Finance (down 3.37%), Can Fin Homes (down 2.23%), PNB Housing Finance (down 0.72%) and GIC Housing Finance (down 0.22%), edged lower. GRUH Finance (up 0.83%) and HDFC (up 1.66%), edged higher.

Shilpa Medicare gained 4.81% after the company's ANDA for Dimethyl Fumarate Delayed Release Capsules was granted tentative approval by FDA. The announcement was made during market hours today, 16 November 2018.

Shilpa Medicare said that the company's ANDA for Dimethyl Fumarate Delayed Release Capsules 120 mg & 240 mg has been granted tentative approval by FDA. Dimethyl Fumarate Delayed Release Capsules 120 mg & 240 mg is a generic of TECFIDERA, used in the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. This ANDA is a first to file submission made on NCE-1 dated 27 March 2017. FDA review process was completed and got approval within a period of 19.5 months from the date of submission. According to IQVIA MAT Q2 2018 data, the US market for Dimethyl Fumarate DR Capsules is approximately $3.46 billion.

On the economic front, India's exports rose by 17.86% to $26.98 billion in October mainly due to the low base effect even as trade deficit widened to $17.13 billion, according to the commerce ministry data. Imports during October also rose by 17.62% to $44.11 billion, leading to widening of trade deficit to $17.13 billion. The deficit widened despite a steep decline of 42.9% in gold imports to $1.68 billion during the month under review. The trade gap was $14.61 billion in October 2017.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 2043.06 crore on 15 November 2018, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 165.31 crore on 15 November 2018, as per provisional data.

Overseas, European and Asian stocks traded higher Friday, as investors closely monitored ongoing political turmoil in the UK. Market focus is largely attuned to Brexit developments, amid heightened fears the country could soon crash out of the European Union without a divorce deal.

The UK was thrust into political turmoil on Thursday following a spate of resignations from Prime Minister Theresa May's government, including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, who said he could not accept the deal after the promises the ruling Conservative Party made to the country in an election manifesto last year.

US stocks snapped a multi-day skid, finishing higher on Thursday buoyed by renewed hopes the US and China can strike a compromise on trade. Cautious optimism took hold following a report that the US may back off from its belligerent stance against China on trade while solid economic data offset underwhelming earnings from Walmart Inc.

A media report suggested that the US and China may step up efforts to resolve their trade conflict, starting with postponing higher tariffs and allowing working level negotiators to iron out a deal.

On the US data front, first-time jobless claims for the week ending 10 November 2018 rose 2,000 to 216,000 in the week ended 10 November 2018. The Philly Fed index dropped 9.3 points to 12.9, a three-month low. The Empire State index rose 2.2 points to 23.3 in November.