Benchmarks snap four day losing streak

Snapping four days losing streak, Indian equity benchmarks ended the Wednesday’s trade with a gain of around half a percent as investors opted to buy beaten down but fundamentally strong stocks. Domestic gauges traded with volatility but in green throughout the session and ended the session near their intraday highs, recapturing their crucial 8,350 (Nifty) and 27,550 (Sensex) bastion. Some support came with Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan convening an all-party meeting amid continuous disruptions by opposition members, to discuss better functioning of the Lok Sabha, proceedings of which have been virtually washed out in the Monsoon Session so far.

However, gains remained capped as participants remained cautious ahead of the expiry of July derivative contracts tomorrow and the outcome of the two-day US Federal Reserve policy meet late Wednesday. Traders also remained concerned with Reserve Bank India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan’s statement that lack of good economists is impacting policy-making in the country. Meanwhile, the union Cabinet is likely to approve a new Consumer Protection Bill 2015 that seeks to replace the existing law and proposes setting up a regulatory authority to curb unfair trade practices. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 1,376 crore on Tuesday.

Positive opening in European counters supported the sentiments.CAC, DAX and FTSE were trading in green in early deals, lifted by strong corporate results and bid activity, including a move HeidelbergCement to take control of Italcementi. Asian markets exhibited mixed trend on Wednesday, with Chinese Shanghai gaining around three and a half percent on hopes that Beijing could stem the rout in its markets without damage to the economy.

Back home, appreciation in Indian rupee too supported the sentiments. The partially convertible rupee was trading at 63.83 per dollar at the time of equity market closing against the Tuesday’s close of 63.91 on the Interbank Foreign Exchange. Buying in metal pack too aided the sentiments after commodity prices firmed up and rebound in the China shares. On the flip side, public sector banks i.e. Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, Canara Bank, Dena Bank, Oriental Bank, Syndicate Bank, Uco Bank and Vijaya Bank all hit their respective 52-week lows on asset quality concern.

The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty rose by around forty points to end above the psychological 8,350 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex surged by over hundred points to finish above the psychological 27,550 mark. Broader markets too traded with traction throughout the trade and ended the session with a gain of around a percentage point. The market breadth remained in favor of advances, as there were 1,665 shares on the gaining side against 1,170 shares on the losing side while 113 shares remain unchanged.

Finally, the BSE Sensex surged by 104.20 points or 0.38% to 27563.43, while the CNX Nifty gained 38.05 points or 0.46% to 8375.05.

The BSE Sensex touched a high and a low 27609.29 and 27470.09, respectively. The BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.89%, while Small cap index was up by 0.83%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.89%, IT up by 1.48%, Auto up by 1.39%, TECK up by 1.34% and Realty up by 1.22%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.92%, FMCG down by 0.82%, PSU down by 0.30% and Oil & Gas down by 0.18% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 2.04%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.87%, Lupin up by 1.83%, BHEL up by 1.78% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.75%. On the flip side, ITC down by 2.35%, SBI down by 2.18%, Reliance Industries down by 1.44%, NTPC down by 1.17% and GAIL India down by 1.08% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet is likely to approve a new Consumer Protection Bill 2015, that seeks to replace the existing law and proposes setting up a regulatory authority to curb unfair trade practices. Once the bill gets Cabinet approval, the Consumer Affairs Ministry will be introducing the bill in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.

The new bill, which will repeal the 29-year-old Consumer Protection Act, seeks to create a Consumer Protection Authority on the lines of the US and European countries for fast-tracking redressal of consumer grievances. It will also set up an authority with power to look into complaints, investigate and even order recall of unsafe products and order compensation to buyers. The authority will also be empowered to impose fine and declare terms of contracts as 'null and void' which are unfair to consumers. It will also protect consumers who are placed in an 'unequal bargaining capacity'.

As per the new bill, the consumers will be allowed to file cases from the place of stay or work against the present practice of filing such cases at place where a product was bought. Consumers can also file cases through electronic mode. For speedy disposal of consumer court cases, the bill seeks to provide 'mediation' as an alternative route to resolve the disputes and also suggests simplified judicial process to ensure inexpensive justice.

Earlier, Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan had said that the government is planning to make consumer forums simpler so that one does not need a lawyer for presenting the case. He had also said that to ensure speedy, inexpensive and simple dispensation of justice for the consumers, the government has also decided to set up a National Consumer Protection Authority (NCPA) with all the executive and enforcement powers for redressal of consumer grievances and to take penal action against defaulting companies.

The CNX Nifty touched a high and low 8381.50 and 8338.45 respectively.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bosch up by 5.15%, HCL up by 3.01%, Yes Bank up by 2.51%, Tata Motors up by 2.40% and Infosys up by 2.18%. On the flip side, Tata Power down by 3.81%, PNB down by 3.21%, ITC down by 2.31%, SBI down by 2.14% and GAIL India down by 1.92% were the top losers.

European Markets were mostly trading in the green; UK's FTSE was up by 0.45%, France’s CAC was up by 0.20% while Germany’s DAX was down by 0.02%.

Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday as investors awaited an update on monetary policy from the Federal Reserve. Japanese government stated that drastic wage increases are needed to create a positive economic cycle and stimulate growth. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga notified that the government will make its utmost efforts to create an environment where small and medium-sized firms can raise wages. Japan’s retail sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.9%, from 3.0% in the preceding month. China’s central bank stated that it will maintain prudent monetary policy in the second half of this year despite inflation concerns triggered by recent rise in the price of pork, the nation’s staple meat. The People’s Bank of China notified that it will keep the policy orientation and flexibility of multiple monetary tools to ensure that liquidity stays at an appropriate level. The central bank added that it will continue to improve lending structure, lower financing costs, keep the yuan stable, stabilize financial market expectations and boost the real economy. Indonesia’s finance ministry sold 2.93 trillion rupiah ($217.68 million) of Islamic bonds at an auction, surpassing an indicative target of 2.5 trillion rupiah.