Benchmarks add gains; Power, Realty lead

Indian equity markets added gains and continued their firm trade in the late afternoon session on account of buying in frontline blue chip counters amid hardening trend in the global market on account of Greece’s debt default on IMF payment. The sentiments got some support after output of eight infrastructure sectors expanded 4.4 percent in May, the highest growth rate in the past six months. Traders were seen piling position in Power, Realty and Capital stocks. In scrip specific development, Indraprastha Gas was trading firm after Supreme Court dismissed Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) plea against the company in the gas pricing case. Airline stocks like Jet Airways and SpiceJet were trading in green after PSU oil marketing companies reduced ATF prices.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in green, while the European markets were trading on optimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above the psychological 8,400 and 27,900 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1814:783 while 103 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27988.18, up by 207.35 points or 0.75% after trading in a range of 27799.91 and 28032.73. There were 25 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.32%, while Small cap index up by 1.45%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.74%, Realty up by 1.73%, Capital Goods up by 1.61%, PSU up by 1.54% and INFRA up by 1.54%.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Cipla up by 2.78%, BHEL up by 2.72%, Wipro up by 1.90%, SBI up by 1.86% and Tata Motors up by 1.78%.

On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.53%, HDFC down by 0.27%, ITC down by 0.24% and Bajaj Auto down by 0.14% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector of India eased in June due to weak growth in new business inflows as companies took a cautious line on hiring and a weaker rise in new business inflows. Recording above the 50.0 no-change mark for the twentieth successive month, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index TM (PMI)TM - a composite single figure indicator of manufacturing performance index fell from 52.6 in May to 51.3 in June.

The survey stated that the PMI for June were weighed down by slower increases in both output and new orders. Production growth eased since May and was moderate overall. Incoming new work expanded at a modest pace that was the weakest since last September.

India’s manufacturing sector saw employment remain broadly unchanged in June. Significant changes in payroll numbers have not been recorded since the opening month of 2014, and firms reportedly maintained a cost-cautious approach to hiring in the survey period.

The survey however stated that workforce numbers were, once again, unchanged during the month, reflecting firms’ efforts to keep expenses stable. Encouragingly, inflation rates softened, with both input costs and output charges rising at below-trend rates. Pre- and post-production stocks both increased in June with survey participants linking the rise in holdings of finished goods to forecasts of higher inflows of new work. Nonetheless, the rate of accumulation was modest and weakened since May. Growth of stocks of purchases also eased and was the slowest in eight months.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8439.15, up by 70.65 points or 0.84% after trading in a range of 8370.15 and 8452.70. There were 43 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bank of Baroda up by 4.27%, Ambuja Cement up by 3.61%, Cipla up by 3.09%, BHEL up by 2.86% and HCL Tech up by 2.29%.

On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 1.33%, NMDC down by 0.76%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.53%, HDFC down by 0.39% and Bajaj Auto down by 0.33% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Jakarta Composite increased 5.72 points or 0.12% to 4,916.38, Straits Times increased 6.54 points or 0.2% to 3,323.87, KOSPI Index increased 23.69 points or 1.14% to 2,097.89, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 26.83 points or 1.57% to 1,733.47 and Nikkei 225 increased 93.59 points or 0.46% to 20,329.32.

On the other hand, Shanghai Composite decreased 223.52 points or 5.23% to 4,053.70.

Hong Kong stock exchange was closed on account of ‘Special Administrative Region Establishment Day’ while Thailand stock exchange was closed on account of ‘Mid Year’ holiday.

The European markets were trading in green; France’s CAC increased 38.01 points or 0.79% to 4,828.21, Germany’s DAX increased 62.77 points or 0.57% to 11,007.74 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 41.9 points or 0.64% to 6,562.88.