Markets trade marginally in green in early noon session

Indian equity bourses altering between positive and negative territory, were now trading with positive bias in early noon session on account of buying by investors in the blue chips counters. Sentiment got some support with India Meteorological Department’s PUNE centre report that the monsoon has bounced back emphatically and is on track for a strong run in the weeks ahead, cheering farmers who were rattled by the unexpected lean patch with rainfall 25% below normal in mid-June. The monsoon is expected to reach Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and parts of Rajasthan in a few days. Other regions of the country, which the monsoon has covered, are going to get good rainfall in next five days. Investors also got some encouragement with the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement that India continues to maintain a high growth rate even in times of difficult global conditions and is sticking with its agenda of reforms push and infrastructure creation. He said India has undertaken reforms in FDI and initiated large investments in rural infrastructure, national highways, inland waterways, shipping, power sector and smart cities. Meanwhile, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian stated that Brexit, or Britain's exit from the European Union, was a sad development but India would not be affected by it due to India’s solid macroeconomics. However, gains remained capped with Britain decided to exit the European Union in a historic referendum on June 24. Weakness in Regional counterparts too dampened sentiments. Asian markets were trading mostly in red and the British pound tumbled more than 2 percent on Monday as markets grappled with deep uncertainty sparked by Britain's decision to leave the European Union. Back home, in scrip specific development, share of Larsen & Toubro was trading higher after the company has won orders worth Rs 2,416 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 26432.05, up by 34.34 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 26298.87 and 26445.46. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.87%, while Small cap index up by 1.42%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.78%, Oil & Gas up by 1.60%, FMCG up by 1.19%, PSU up by 1.07% and Capital Goods up by 1.04%, while IT down by 1.30% and TECK down by 1.20% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 1.96%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.25%, Axis Bank up by 1.16%, ITC up by 1.15% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.14%. On the flip side, TCS down by 2.84%, Infosys down by 1.37%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.95%, Power Grid down by 0.90% and Wipro down by 0.75% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya has indicated that, retirement fund body EPFO’s performance of investment in Exchange Traded Funds( EFTs)will be discussing in the forth coming meeting of Central Board of Trustees, which is going to be held on July 7 in Delhi and decision would be taken on how much funds are to be increased from 5%.

The minister pointed stated that “As on March 31, 2016 the amount invested was Rs 6,577 crore which gave a return of Rs 6,601 crore, which is up by 0.37 per cent. As on April 30, 2016 the amount invested was Rs 6,674 crore and this gave a return of Rs 6,786 crore which is up by 1.68 per cent.” Further, Dattatreya stated that, the world over, pension funds’ investments in equities are very much higher as these give good returns in long run and equities are considered long-term investments.

Last year Finance Ministry had notified a new investment pattern for EPFO, in equity or equity-related schemes, retirement fund body can invest minimum 5% and up to 15% of its funds. During 2015-16, Retirement fund body invested Rs 6,577 crore, or 5% of the investible surplus, in equities through ETFs. The investments in ETFs are done in NSE and BSE in the ratio of 75% and 25% of the funds invested, respectively.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8106.70, up by 18.10 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 8039.35 and 8106.85. There were 33 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 3.31%, BPCL up by 3.08%, Aurobindo Pharma up by 2.53%, ACC up by 2.24% and SBI up by 2.08%. On the flip side, TCS down by 2.96%, Zee Entertainment down by 1.78%, Infosys down by 1.28%, Power Grid down by 1.06% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 82.28 points or 0.41% to 20,176.85, Jakarta Composite decreased 18.37 points or 0.38% to 4,816.20, Taiwan Weighted decreased 18.12 points or 0.21% to 8,458.87 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 7.43 points or 0.45% to 1,626.62, while KOSPI Index increased 1.61 points or 0.08% to 1,926.85, Shanghai Composite increased 33.66 points or 1.18% to 2,887.94 and Nikkei 225 increased 357.19 points or 2.39% to 15,309.21.