Post Session: Quick Review

Local equity markets witnessed consolidation on Thursday, whereby benchmark equity indices after flip-flopping between green and red territory ended at flat note, though both Sensex and Nifty ended above crucial 27,800 and 8,400 levels respectively in absence of any substantial fresh positive cues. Value buying activity which got triggered in last hour of trade mainly aided the market’s recovery from day’s low level in the otherwise lackluster session of trade. Nevertheless, rate cut hopes managed of offset the impact seen on account of somber global cues. Sentiment to some extent also got support from Finance Minister Jaitley statement on inflation front. Jaitley weighing down the fear of rebound in the inflation said that it will not be a significant challenge though there is a possibility of below average monsoon and food prices getting impacted. The session also turned out to be subdued for broader indices, which went home with losses of around 0.10-0.40%.

On the global front, Asian pacific shares concluded mixed, Japan’s stocks stayed near a 15-year high, though weaker-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data kept a cap on gains in Australia and China. The region’s lackluster performance came after a reading of the HSBC China manufacturing purchasing managers index, a gauge of the country’s factory activity, came in at 49.1 in May, compared with a projected 49.3. The reading was at 48.9 in April. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. Meanwhile, European stocks drifted lower on Thursday following mixed manufacturing reports from the euro-zone, including a figures pointing to slowing output growth in Germany, Europe’s largest economy.

Closer home, sectoral indices on BSE concluded mixed, while stocks from Realty, Auto and Capital Goods counters were the top gainers of the session, while those from Infrastructure, Power and Fast Moving Consumer Goods counters were the top losers of the session. Auto counter was up mainly on account of splendid gains of Bajaj Auto. Hit by declining sales, Bajaj reported 18.62 per cent fall in standalone net profit at Rs 621.62 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2015. The overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of decliners which thumped advances in the ratio of 1510: 1179; while 151 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex concluded at 27809.35, down by 27.86 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 27712.73 and 27911.44. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.45%, while Small cap index ended lower by 0.12%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.89%, Auto up by 0.82%, Capital Goods up by 0.59%, PSU up by 0.21% and IT up by 0.17%, while INFRA down by 1.03%, Power down by 0.79%, FMCG down by 0.76%, Oil & Gas down by 0.51% and Metal down by 0.39% were the losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Auto up by 7.54%, Coal India up by 3.49%, Axis Bank up by 1.91%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.51% and Sun Pharma up by 1.33%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 5.12%, Vedanta down by 3.22%, Cipla down by 2.19%, ITC down by 1.58% and ICICI Bank down by 1.57% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, in order to improve the ease of doing business on “priority basis”, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has asked all secretaries of central ministries and chief secretaries of the states and Union Territories to simplify regulatory environment and to introduce online filing of forms. This initiative is part of government's 'Make in India' drive to attract investments and make the country a global manufacturing hub.

Laying out the steps, DIPP underscored that all return forms should be filed online through a unified form; a check-list of required compliances should be placed on the department's web portal and should be maintained under a single electronic register.

DIPP also asserted that it did not want any inspection to be undertaken without the prior approval of the Head of the Department and that the system of self-certification should be introduced for all non-risk, non-hazardous businesses.

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is basically taking all the steps to bring India into the top-50 ranking in terms of 'ease of doing business', which is a tall task since India ranks 142 among the 189 countries in the World Bank report in this area.

Highlighting few of the steps taken towards this development, DIPP pointed that registration process of VAT and professional tax has been merged into a single process with single ID on January 1, 2015 by Maharashtra; time required for giving a new electric connection in Mumbai has been reduced to 21 days from 67 days and the number of procedures involved has been cut down to three from seven and that process of applying for Industrial License and Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum has been made online and this service is now available to entrepreneurs on 24x7 bases at the e-Biz website.

India VIX, a gauge for markets short term expectation of volatility declined 1.72% at 17.41 from its previous close of 17.71 on Wednesday. (Provisional)

The CNX Nifty settled at 8421.00, down by 2.25 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 8382.50 and 8446.35. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 6.92%, Coal India up by 3.42%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.31%, Grasim Industries up by 2.23% and Axis Bank up by 2.19%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 5.27%, Vedanta down by 3.26%, Idea Cellular down by 2.27%, Cipla down by 2.06% and Bank Of Baroda down by 2.00% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European Markets were trading mostly in red; Germany's DAX lost 0.33% and France's CAC was down by 0.34%, while UK's FTSE was up by 0.03%.

The Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday, with mainland markets rallying after another weak reading on Chinese manufacturing activity raised hopes for further stimulus measures by Beijing. Manufacturing activity in Asia’s top two economic powerhouses remained stuck in low gear in May, but an absence of inflation pressures suggested that authorities could inject yet more stimulus if needed. The lackluster performance in China and Japan, along with alarmingly weak export data from South Korea and Taiwan, put the burden of supporting global growth squarely on Europe and particularly the United States, which is struggling to get back on track after a fierce winter. China’s flash HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 49.1 in May, below the 50-point level that separates growth in activity from a contraction on a monthly basis. Standard & Poor’s raised the outlook on Indonesia’s BB-plus sovereign rating to positive from stable, acknowledging the Southeast Asian nation’s improved policies aimed at better monetary and financial sector management. S&P is the only international agency which has Indonesia in the junk category. Fitch, at BBB-minus, and Moody’s, at Baa3, have rated it in the investment grade category.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plan to cut the country’s debt pile will rely on the Bank of Japan keeping government bond yields low for years to come, which could force the bank to maintain its massive monetary stimulus for longer than it wants. Abe has pledged to come up with plans to fix Japan’s tattered finances, but he is reluctant to raise taxes or cut spending drastically for fear of hurting the fragile economy.  Japan’s All Industries Activity Index fell to a seasonally adjusted -1.3%, from 0.2% in the preceding month whose figure was revised up from 0.1%. The Markit/JMMA flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 50.9 in May from a final 49.9 in April.