Markets trade flat in early deals

After witnessing a sharp rise in previous session, Indian equity markets once again made a positive start but are now trading flat as traders booked profits at higher levels. Weakness in other Asian markets too weighted down sentiments as China's exports during May declined 4.1%. Further, there was some cautiousness in the markets with  the World Bank slashing global growth outlook for 2016 to 2.4 per cent from 2.9 per cent, citing sluggishly low commodity prices, uncertain capital flow and lukewarm demand in advanced economies.  However, the session was productive for broader indices, which outperforming larger counterparts were trading with gains of around a quarter percent. Some support came in on report that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 499.73 crore on June 7, 2016, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.  In the scrip specific development, Asian Granito surged over 10 per cent on the BSE after the company received an order for its recently launched vitrified tiles Jumbo and Imperio. Bharat Forge climbed 3 per cent as its joint venture Alstom Bharat Forge Power bagged an order worth $219 million from NTPC.

On the global front, US markets ended mixed on Tuesday. Gains in the Oil & Gas, Telecoms and Industrials sectors propelled shares higher, while losses in the Healthcare, Financials and Utilities sectors led shares lower. Asian markets were mostly trading in red, as weak Chinese export data offset a brightening energy sector outlook and an expected delay in interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.

Back home, traders were seen piling up position in Capital Goods, Power, FMCG, Oil & Gas and PSU, while selling was witnessed in Bankex, IT, Metal and TECK. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 866: 482, while 66 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27040.08, up by 30.41 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 27011.65 and 27105.41. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index as well as Small cap index were trading up by 0.27%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 0.89%, Power up by 0.72%, FMCG up by 0.28%, Oil & Gas up by 0.22% and PSU up by 0.20%, while Bankex down by 0.26%, IT down by 0.19%, Metal down by 0.13% and TECK down by 0.02% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 1.63%, ONGC up by 1.36%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.78%, Tata Motors up by 0.71% and Sun Pharma Inds. up by 0.58%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 0.83%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.66%, TCS down by 0.57%, Axis Bank down by 0.53% and Infosys down by 0.41% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, citing improvement in macroeconomic conditions and the commitment to fiscal consolidation, the Indian government has pitched for a ratings upgrade with global rating agency Fitch Ratings. Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das after a two-hour long meeting with the representatives of the agency, said that “We highlighted the overall economic situation and in all the major sectors the challenges which the economy faces and what is the outlook for the next year.”

During the meeting, finance ministry officials highlighted the reform initiatives of the government which include new bankruptcy code, creation of interest rate setting monetary policy committee and amendments to the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) and Sarfesi Acts. It was also said that in order to reset the fiscal goal post in the long run, the government has set up a committee to review the long-term fiscal target.

The ministry officials also reiterated the government's commitment to introduce Goods and Services Tax (GST) at the earliest. Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian had earlier said the government has pitched for a rating upgrade with Fitch and stated that finance ministry is committed to fiscal consolidation path.

Fitch Ratings which had in December affirmed India’s ‘BBB-’ rating with a stable outlook, and had forecasted 8 percent growth for 2016-17, said that it is in the process of review and it is going to take some time. ‘BBB-’ is the lowest investment grade and just a notch above junk grading.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8265.25, down by 1.20 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 8262.50 and 8288.90. There were 29 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 2.18%, ONGC up by 1.57%, Ambuja Cement up by 1.49%, Tata Motors up by 0.81% and Tata Power up by 0.75%. On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 1.49%, Asian Paints down by 1.10%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.02%, Hindalco down by 1.00% and SBI down by 0.76% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Hang Seng decreased 53.83 points or 0.25% to 21,274.41, Shanghai Composite decreased 13.06 points or 0.44% to 2,922.98, Jakarta Composite decreased 10.78 points or 0.22% to 4,923.21 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 5.29 points or 0.32% to 1,655.33.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 increased 0.57 points or 0% to 16,676.02, KOSPI Index increased 1.62 points or 0.08% to 2,013.25 and Taiwan Weighted increased 38.09 points or 0.44% to 8,717.99.