Benchmarks continue firm trade; Nifty holds 8,350 mark

Indian equity markets continued their firm trade in narrow range on account of buying in frontline blue chip counters as optimism prevailed on the street of above-normal monsoon which reignited rate cut hopes. Investors however maintained cautious approach as the Greek bailout deal is in doubt after Greece Prime Minister Tsipras informed that reform measures were not accepted by creditors. Traders were seen piling up position in Capital Goods, Oil & Gas and Metal stocks, while selling was witnessed in IT, Consumer Durables and TECK stocks. In scrip specific development, KPIT Technologies was trading weak touching a fresh 52-week low on speculation that promoters are looking to offload their stake in the company. The stock market may remain volatile today as traders may roll over positions in the Futures & Options (F&O) segment from the near month series i.e. June 2015 to next month i.e. July 2015 series. The near month June 2015 derivatives contracts will expire today i.e. June 25, 2015.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in red, while the European markets were trading mostly on pessimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above the psychological 8,350 and 27,700 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 1148:1179 while 108 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27794.74, up by 65.07 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 27635.76 and 27809.46. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.08%, while Small cap index up by 0.03%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 0.75%, Oil & Gas up by 0.41%, Metal up by 0.38%, Realty up by 0.31% and Power up by 0.31% while, IT down by 0.74%, Consumer Durables down by 0.57%, TECK down by 0.52%, FMCG down by 0.45% and PSU down by 0.04% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Vedanta up by 3.07%, HDFC up by 1.65%, BHEL up by 1.44%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.20% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.17%.

On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.39%, Wipro down by 1.36%, Cipla down by 1.34%, ONGC down by 1.07% and NTPC down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, giving some cheers to the government and policy makers despite the concerns of looming US rate hikes, the “World Investment Report 2015” released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has said that India is among the top 10 countries to attract high foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2014. India’s investment inflows grew 23 percent whereas global inflows reduced 16 percent last year. In 2014, the country received $34 billion in comparison to $ 45 billion in 2007. The report further highlighted that the upward trend is likely to continue against the backdrop of a push to manufacturing as part of the 'Make In India' initiative.

India ranked 6th among the most promising investor economies and ranked 3rd among top 10 prospective home economies. However, between 2005 and 2009, India's ranking in the list of most favoured investment location had fallen. UNCTAD further said that in the manufacturing sector in South Asia, FDI success stories have come up, with India's automotive industry showing how large-scale inflows can reshape the trajectory of industrial progress in low-income countries. The country accounted for the majority of greenfield investment projects announced by global automakers and first-tier parts suppliers in South Asia during 2013-14, including 12 projects of above $100 million.

The UNCTAD's report has also said that global foreign direct investment is expected to rebound in 2015 after falling 16 per cent last year due to a fragile world economy and political and military crises. FDI flows worldwide dropped to $1.23 trillion (about 1.1trillion euros) in 2014, largely due to shaky investor confidence. The report however forecast an 11 percent rise in FDI this year to $1.4trillion, spurred by higher investments by multinational organisations.

Asia drew a total of $465bn in FDI, the biggest recipients of overseas investment after China were Hong Kong at $103bn, the United States at $92bn, followed by Britain, Singapore, Brazil, Canada, Australia, India and the Netherlands.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8367.35, up by 6.50 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 8329.50 and 8373.30. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Vedanta up by 3.04%, Cairn India up by 2.67%, BPCL up by 1.50%, HDFC up by 1.47% and BHEL up by 1.34%.

On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.34%, HCL Tech down by 2.14%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.46%, Cipla down by 1.41% and Wipro down by 1.36% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 252.37 points or 0.92% to 27,152.60, Shanghai Composite decreased 141.68 points or 3.02% to 4,548.47, Nikkei 225 decreased 96.63 points or 0.46% to 20,771.40, Jakarta Composite decreased 23.05 points or 0.47% to 4,930.47, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 6.93 points or 0.4% to 1,724.75, Straits Times decreased 3.45 points or 0.1% to 3,347.88 and KOSPI Index decreased 0.47 points or 0.02% to 2,085.06.

On the other hand, Taiwan Weighted increased 79.03 points or 0.84% to 9,476.34.

The European markets were trading mostly in red; Germany’s DAX decreased 71.28 points or 0.62% to 11,471.26, France’s CAC decreased 12.33 points or 0.24% to 5,045.35 while, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 9.93 points or 0.15% to 6,844.80.