Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity markets remained on a downtrend for the third consecutive session, though benchmarks crept higher, above the neutral lines for most part of the day but failed to negotiate a positive close. The ferocious selling pressure which was witnessed in the last leg of the trade mainly dragged the benchmark equity indices at day’s low by the close of trade. Sentiments turned downbeat on account of tighter P-Note norms. SEBI had yesterday made rules tougher on controversy-ridden P-Notes, making mandatory for all end-users of these overseas instruments to follow anti-money laundering law in India and asked their issuers to report any suspected breach immediately.

However, losses remained capped as some support came with Indian Meteorological Department’s statement that the monsoon has made its much-awaited entry into the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, though it also said that it may get delayed a bit due to an ongoing cyclonic activity in the Bay of Bengal. Traders also took some encouragement with global rating agency Moody's Investors Service, forecasting Indian economy to grow 7.5 percent in the current and next year has said the expansion is primarily driven by rising consumption and sustained improvement in private investment was needed to maintain the momentum.

European counters making firm start too aided sentiments. CAC, DAX and FTSE were trading with a gain of around a percent in early deals, helped by gains in Asia overnight and stronger oil prices, with UniCredit leading the gainers on talk of possible asset sales. Asian counters rallied on Friday. Japanese Nikkei edged higher by over half a percent ahead of Group of Seven meetings, and prospects for a US interest rate hike as early as June curbed buyers’ appetite.

Back home, depreciation in Indian rupee weighed down sentiments. The rupee was trading at 67.46 at the time of equity markets closing as against yesterday’s closing level of 67.36 at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange (forex) market on the back of dollar demand from importers. On the sectoral front, stocks related to FMCG counter edged lower despite India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting monsoon for 2016-17 at 106 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA). On the flip side, logistics stocks remained on buyers’ radar on hopes that the outcome of the state elections will boost chances for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance to pass goods and services tax bill in the Rajya Sabha.

The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty declined by over thirty points to end below the psychological 7,750 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex dropped by around a hundred points but managed to hold its psychological 25,300 mark. Broader markets too witnessed selling pressure and ended the session with a cut of around half a percent.

The market breadth remained in the favour off decliners, as there were 901 shares on the gaining side against 1,665 shares on the losing side while 181 shares remain unchanged. (Provisional)

The BSE Sensex ended at 25301.90, down by 97.82 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 25251.90 and 25506.06. There were 9 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.49%, while Small cap index down by 0.83%. (Provisional)

The lone gaining sectoral index on the BSE was FMCG up by 0.19%, while Realty down by 1.42%, Healthcare down by 1.39%, Energy down by 0.95%, Capital Goods down by 0.75% and Oil & Gas down by 0.56% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 3.66%, Adani Ports &Special up by 3.29%, ONGC up by 1.31%, NTPC up by 1.00% and Bajaj Auto up by 0.98%. On the flip side, Lupin down by 9.23%, ICICI Bank down by 2.48%, Reliance Industries down by 1.81%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.25% and Tata Motors down by 1.08% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu has said that the government is all set to announce 14 more cities to be included in the first set of cities to receive funds under the flagship smart cities mission, taking the total number to 34.

Naidu further said that for the first round of smart city projects the ground work has been completed. Detailed project reports (DPRs) are approved and construction is expected to begin in these cities by June 25. He further said that there are huge opportunities for private players as the first 20 cities would require investment to the tune of $7 billion. Highlighting the role of the private sector in the development of smart cities, Naidu said there is an urgent need to involve it and bring in their expertise and technology to meet the aspirations of the citizens in these cities.

Under the 'Smart City mission, the government plans to develop 100 cities as smart cities with advanced infrastructure and facilities. It had earlier shortlisted 98 cities. The 20 cities that had already been announced may require an investment of $8 billion whereas once all 100 cities were selected the cities may require $40 billion.

The CNX Nifty ended at 7749.70, down by 33.70 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 7735.75 and 7812.40. There were 21 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports & Special up by 3.73%, ITC up by 1.69%, Idea Cellular up by 1.49%, Tata Power up by 1.46% and ONGC up by 1.45%. On the flip side, Lupin down by 9.10%, ICICI Bank down by 2.42%, BPCL down by 2.41%, Ambuja Cement down by 2.25% and Bharti Infratel down by 1.81% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in green; France’s CAC increased 48.77 points or 1.14% to 4,331.31, UK’s FTSE 100 surged 82.22 points or 1.36% to 6,135.57 and Germany’s DAX was up by 89.74 points or 0.92% to 9,885.63.

Asian equity markets ended mostly higher on Friday, as oil prices rebounded ahead of US rig count data and the dollar held gains against the yen on the eve of a G7 meeting, with issues such as money laundering, tax evasion and currency volatility high on the agenda. Chinese shares eked out modest gains after China said it would allocate 27.64 billion yuan ($4.23 billion) from the central budget to cut steel and coal capacity. Japanese shares reversed early losses to end higher as a weaker yen boosted exporters' shares.