Sensex, Nifty trade flat on weak macroeconomic data

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed early losses but continued their lackluster trade in late afternoon session, triggered by lower GDP numbers and fall in core industries growth. India's GDP growth rate slowed down to a lower than expected 6.1% for the January-March quarter and eight core sector growth slipped to 2.5% in April. Some concerns also came with the report that India’s manufacturing sector growth slipped to a three-month low in May, due to softer expansions in new orders and production. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) - a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance- was down to 51.6 in May from 52.5 in April. However, the broader markets showed some fervor and traded with notable gains, performing better than their larger peers. Besides, a healthy buying in Healthcare, FMCG and Auto stocks, helped the markets to trim losses.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, as investors eyed oil prices and continued to monitor politics in the region with U.K. elections just a week away. Asian markets were trading mixed. Back home, in scrip specific development, Jubilant Life Sciences edged higher after the company restarted manufacturing operations of the Distillery unit at Gajraula in Uttar Pradesh from June 1, 2017. With this, manufacturing operations of all units at Gajraula have resumed.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31140.80, down by 5.00 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 31062.02 and 31213.12. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.29%, while Small cap index was up by 0.94%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.44%, FMCG up by 1.30%, Industrials up by 0.51%, Consumer Disc up by 0.49% and Auto up by 0.28%, while Oil & Gas down by 1.56%, Metal down by 1.18%, Energy down by 1.10%, PSU down by 0.83% and Bankex down by 0.48% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.62%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.36%, Sun Pharma up by 1.99%, ITC up by 1.27% and Wipro up by 1.00%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 2.24%, ONGC down by 1.95%, GAIL India down by 1.89%, Tata Steel down by 1.56% and Axis Bank down by 1.10% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s manufacturing sector growth slipped to a three-month low in May due to softer expansions in new orders and production. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)-a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance- was down to 51.6 in May from 52.5 in April. However, the reading signalled an expansion for the fifth consecutive month, remaining above the no-change mark of 50.0.

As per the survey, while a further upturn in new business supported output growth, incoming new work rose at the weakest pace since February with slowdowns evident in the consumer and intermediate goods categories.  The spending patterns remained varied with employment down but quantities of purchases up from April.
The survey said that holdings of finished goods decreased in May as companies sought to fulfill orders from stocks. Besides, international demand for Indian-manufactured goods deteriorated in the reported month, as signalled by a decline in new export orders. The contraction was only slight, but ended a three-month sequence of growth.

On inflation front, the survey said that the rate of inflation softened to the slowest in eight months. However, factory gate charges increased at a slightly quicker pace than in April. Besides, cost burdens facing Indian goods producers continued to rise in May with chemicals, metals, paper and plastics all reported to be up in price. While, degree of optimism climbed to a six-month high, business confidence improved in May, with firms expecting new product launches, machinery acquisitions and marketing campaigns to support output growth in the year ahead.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9614.00, down by 7.25 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 9589.90 and 9634.65. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.57%, Aurobindo Pharma up by 2.38%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.30%, Sun Pharma up by 1.79% and Bharti Infratel up by 1.58%. On the flip side, Indian Oil Corporation down by 2.82%, Vedanta down by 2.62%, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 2.59%, ICICI Bank down by 1.99% and ONGC down by 1.98% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted increased 46.7 points or 0.47% to 10,087.42, Hang Seng increased 148.57 points or 0.58% to 25,809.22 and Nikkei 225 increased 209.46 points or 1.07% to 19,860.03. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite decreased 14.55 points or 0.47% to 3,102.62, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 3.29 points or 0.19% to 1,762.58 and KOSPI Index decreased 2.77 points or 0.12% to 2,344.61.

All the European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 30.88 points or 0.41% to 7,550.83, France’s CAC rose 33.24 points or 0.63% to 5,316.87 and Germany’s DAX was up by 46.86 points or 0.37% to 12,661.92.