Sensex, Nifty extend gains to hit fresh highs

Indian equity benchmarks extended gains in late afternoon session to hit fresh highs with Nifty ruling above 9600 mark. However, in the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap were still down to lose 0.26% and 0.87%, respectively. Traders took encouragement with the report stating that the Employees Provident Fund Organisation has approved hike in investment limit in exchange traded funds (ETFs) to 15 per cent, from the existing 10 per cent. Buying in heavyweight stocks as well as key FMCG, Energy and Consumer Durables supported the up-move. Some support also come with private poll indicating that India remained the fastest growing major economy in the world last quarter, with growth buoyed by an improved performance in manufacturing and services. The median forecast from a poll of 35 economists showed the economy grew 7.1 percent annually in the first three months of this year. Forecasts ranged from 6.5 to 7.8 percent.

On the sectoral front, shares of some steel companies were trading higher with Indian Steel Association’s report that India turned net exporter of steel this year and the trend is expected to continue as the metal's quality has become globally competitive. The report further noted that this is the beginning for India towards becoming a global player.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red following lackluster trade in Asian equities overnight and decline in the oil price. Asian markets were trading in red. Back home, in scrip specific development, Mphasis edged higher after the company entered into a new Solution Partner relationship with DXC Technology, the world’s leading independent, end-to-end IT services company, to transform and modernize enterprise applications for public, private and hybrid cloud.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31200.72, up by 172.51 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 30869.90 and 31203.26. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.26%, while Small cap index was down by 0.87%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 1.95%, Consumer Durables up by 1.32%, Energy up by 0.71%, Auto up by 0.57% and Metal up by 0.56%, while Realty down by 3.80%, Healthcare down by 1.93%, IT down by 1.36%, TECK down by 1.06% and Power down by 1.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 3.11%, ITC up by 3.09%, Cipla up by 2.56%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.55% and Reliance Industries up by 2.12%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 10.38%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 5.17%, Infosys down by 1.66%, ICICI Bank down by 1.31% and Wipro down by 0.82% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, impacted by stringent norms put in place by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to curb the inflow of illicit funds, the share of foreign portfolio investments (FPI) through participatory notes (P-notes) has declined to 4-month low of Rs 1.68 lakh crore at the end of April. According to the data released by SEBI, the total value of P-Notes investment in Indian markets including equity, debt and derivatives, at April-end, declined to Rs 1,68,545 crore, from Rs 1,78,437 crore at the end of March. The total investment value through P-notes stood at Rs 1,70,191 crore in February-end and Rs 1,75,088 crore in January-end.

Of the total, P-note holdings in equities at April-end were at Rs 1,09,541 crore, while in debts and derivatives were at Rs 18,839 crore and Rs 40,165 crore respectively. The quantum of FPI investments via P-Notes decreased to 6 percent in April, from 6.6 percent in the preceding month. This was the lowest level of investment through the route since December, when the cumulative value of such investment stood at Rs 1.57 lakh crore.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money, set up by the Supreme Court, had recommended a slew of measures, including the need for Sebi to come up with stricter regulations on P-notes. Following which in order to strengthen the regulatory framework for P-notes, Sebi had recently tightened the norm by barring resident Indians, NRIs and entities owned by them from making investment through P-notes.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9637.25, up by 42.15 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 9547.70 and 9637.45. There were 30 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 3.30%, HDFC up by 3.11%, ITC up by 2.88%, Bharti Infratel up by 2.68% and Hindustan Unilever up by 2.57%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 12.00%, Sun Pharma down by 10.18%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 5.69%, Yes Bank down by 2.68% and Bank of Baroda down by 2.15% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Jakarta Composite decreased 7.29 points or 0.13% to 5,709.52, Nikkei 225 decreased 4.27 points or 0.02% to 19,682.57, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 2.62 points or 0.15% to 1,769.68 and KOSPI Index decreased 2.33 points or 0.1% to 2,352.97. On the flip side, Hang Seng increased 62.36 points or 0.24% to 25,701.63.

European Markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC decreased 12.69 points or 0.24% to 5,323.95 and Germany’s DAX decreased 8.91 points or 0.07% to 12,593.27. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 29.92 points or 0.4% to 7,547.63.