Post Session: Quick Review

Buying activity which took place during last leg of trade mainly drove the markets higher and key domestic benchmarks showcased an enthusiastic performance on Thursday, by rallying around half a percentage point. Earlier, markets traded choppy for most part of the day’s trade as Traders remained on sidelines ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB) and Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting scheduled today. However, rally in last leg of trade mainly helped the frontline indices not only ended the session near intraday high levels but also recaptured their crucial 8,200 (Nifty) and 26,800 (Sensex) bastions as investors took to hefty across the board buying. Traders got some support with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement that the roll-out of GST will convert India into one common market, prevent tax-on-tax and make goods and services cheaper. He also said that the country is on an “upward curve” and a good monsoon, GST passage and increased infra and rural spending will further accelerate the growth.

Positive opening in European counters too provided some support to the domestic markets. CAC, DAX and FTSE were trading in green ahead of the European Central Bank’s policy meeting later in the day. Asian markets ended mostly in green terrain, however Nikkei fell more than 2 per cent on the back of yen strength. Back home, there was broad based buying witnessed in the markets and apart from the blue chips, the broader markets too participated strongly in the rally. Appreciation in Indian rupee aided sentiments. Indian rupee, reversing its three-day downward trend, recovered by 20 paise to 67.23 against the US dollar at the time of equity markets closing on fresh selling of the American currency by exporters. Traders also took some encouragement with Finance Minister’s statement that the government will push ahead with its reform agenda to retain the fastest growing large economy tag and help India move towards becoming ‘a more developed economy’.

On the sectoral front, auto sector remained in green after companies like Tata Motors, Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto etc reported better-than-expected May sales numbers. On the flip side, stocks related to consumer goods space edged lower, with service tax proposals announced during the Union Budget 2016 coming into effect from June 1, imposing 0.5 percent Krishi Kalyan Cess and increasing the total incidence of service tax to 15 percent.

The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index -- Nifty -- rose by around forty points to end above the psychological 8,200 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex -- surged by around one hundred and thirty points to finish above the psychological 26,800 mark. Broader markets too traded with traction and ended the session with a gain of around half a percent.

The market breadth remained in favor of decliners, as there were 1,259 shares on the gaining side against 1,364 shares on the losing side while 163 shares remain unchanged. (Provisional)

The BSE Sensex ended at 26843.14, up by 129.21 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 26641.02 and 26885.16. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.66%, while Small cap index up by 0.29%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.99%, PSU up by 1.11%, Finance up by 0.93%, Bankex up by 0.92% and Capital Goods up by 0.80%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.66% and Healthcare down by 0.42% were the only losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Coal India up by 3.20%, Tata Steel up by 2.92%, Axis Bank up by 2.09%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.01% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.83%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 2.36%, Sun Pharma down by 1.31%, Lupin down by 0.88%, ITC down by 0.72% and Bajaj Auto down by 0.66% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, concerned about the grim draught situation faced by some parts of the country, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has tasked Niti Aayog to prepare a contingency plan for 67 districts in the country that are prone to drought even in years of normal monsoon. The Irrigation Commission had identified 67 drought-prone districts, comprising 326 talukas across eight states with an area of 49.73 million hectares and the Niti Aayog will have to prepare location-specific remedial measures for all the identified districts.

The plan will include material as well as financial support to these districts year after year so as to help them improve their condition. It was reported that Niti Aayog has been asked to prepare the plan at the earliest so that the government can start addressing the problem forthwith.

Some of the financial measures being considered include enhanced subsidies, funding for sowing perennial crops and enhanced work allocation under rural employment guarantee programme. The material support could include making available seeds and other inputs to ensure that farmers get back to their fields with alternate crops even if the main crops fail.

About one-sixth of India, home to about 12% of the country's population, is drought-prone, with the areas that receive rainfall up to 60 cm a year being the most vulnerable. India is heavily dependent on monsoon rains, which have been poor for two years in a row. The government had recently said that nearly 256 districts across India, home to nearly a quarter of the population were impacted by the drought.

The CNX Nifty ended at 8218.95, up by 39.00 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 8154.75 and 8229.50. There were 36 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 3.42% and Yes Bank up by 3.06% and Hindalco up by 2.86% and Tata Steel up by 2.56% and Axis Bank up by 2.42%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 2.54%, HCL Tech down by 1.80%, Sun Pharma down by 1.03%, Lupin down by 1.00% and Bharti Infratel down by 0.95% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in green; France’s CAC increased 6.73 points or 0.15% to 4,482.12, Germany’s DAX gained 20.12 points or 0.2% to 10,224.56 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 22.96 points or 0.37% to 6,214.89.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday as yen strength persisted and oil prices drifted lower ahead of the OPEC and ECB meetings. Investors also awaited ADP payroll data due tonight and the US government's official jobs report due on Friday for further clues on whether the Federal Open Market Committee would raise interest rates at the upcoming meeting on June 14-15. Chinese shares eked out modest gains even as weak factory activity readings brought global growth worries back at center stage. Japanese shares saw their biggest drop in one month as Brexit fears and disappointment over the lack of fresh stimulus plans to boost growth lifted the yen to a two-week high against the dollar. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe disappointed investors by failing to provide details of a fiscal stimulus package when he announced his widely-expected decision to delay the planned sales tax hike for a second time.