Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks traded in a narrow range throughout the day and closed the session below neutral line. The equity benchmarks made a positive start and traded in fine fettle in early deals after India’s exports exhibiting positive growth for the last eight months grew 8.32 per cent to $24.01 billion in May, mainly on account of robust performance by sectors like petroleum, chemicals, engineering goods as well as gems and jewellery. The exports increased by 8.32 percent to $24014.62 million in May 2017, as compared to $22170.62 million in the same month a year ago. In the rupee terms exports was higher by 4.30 percent to Rs 154713.69 crore as compared to Rs 148336.31 crore in May 2016. Meanwhile, industry body PHD Chamber said that the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, if implemented with a positive approach, can boost the GDP of the country. The Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA) came into force from April 1 with a promise of protecting the right of consumers and ushering in transparency. Separately, a private report highlighted that India continued to climb on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2017, emerging as the highest ranked economy in Central and South Asia, as it moved up six places to 60th among 130 nations. Last year, India climbed up the innovation ladder to reach 66th position from 81st in 2015 - an improvement after 5 years of continuous drop in its ranking. Sentiments remained dampened on Current Account Deficit which soared to $ 3.4 billion, or 0.6 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017, from $ 0.3 billion a year ago. The widening of the CAD on a year-on-year basis was primarily on account of a higher trade deficit which stood at $ 29.7 billion. However, on a sequential basis, the gap between forex earnings and expenses, narrowed from $ 8 billion in the third quarter of FY17.

On the global front, Asian markets closed mostly in green. The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady and offered a more upbeat view on private consumption and overseas economies, signaling its confidence that the recovery was gaining momentum. In a widely expected move, the BOJ maintained the 0.1 per cent interest it charges on a portion of the excess reserves that financial institutions park with the central bank. European markets were trading mostly in green following news of fresh bailout funds for Greece and as investors were eyeing Sunday’s last round of the French parliamentary elections.

Back home, majority of healthcare stocks closed in red after a media report indicated of likely new US order to lower drug costs in the US. The company with larger proportion of business in US will witness a significant drop in their revenues. President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing an executive order aimed at lowering US drug costs and officials in the administration will meet later today. Meanwhile, Bhushan Steel, Lanco Infratech, Monnet Ispat and Amtek Auto closed in red on reports that these companies are in the list of 12 accounts to be sent to Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The Reserve Bank of India has sent bankers the list of 12 stressed accounts that they must resolve through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

The BSE Sensex ended at 31028.61, down by 47.12 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 31023.35 and 31182.73. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.07%, while Small cap index was up by 0.04%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.50%, Industrials up by 0.40%, Basic Materials up by 0.37%, Bankex up by 0.36% and Utilities up by 0.32%, while Healthcare down by 1.63%, IT down by 1.02%, TECK down by 0.83%, Consumer Disc down by 0.27% and Metal down by 0.22% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 1.66%, ITC up by 1.36%, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone up by 1.00%, NTPC up by 0.78% and SBI up by 0.77%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Lupin down by 4.39%, Sun Pharma down by 2.63%, Wipro down by 2.57%, Cipla down by 2.29% and Infosys down by 1.61% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, improving its ranking in innovative activity for the second consecutive year, India has moved up six places from 66th in last year to reach 60th position in this year's Global Innovation Index (GII), an annual global ranking that assesses the innovation capabilities of 127 countries. The country scored 35.47 on a 0 to 100 scale in world innovation index, while Switzerland secured top place by scoring 67.69.

The report further said that India is now in the top half of the GII ranking, the country remained first in Central and Southern Asia region and 6th among lower-middle-income economies. India's ranking was elevated on the basis of five parameters - institutions, infrastructure, business sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs and creative output. India has also outperformed on innovation relative to its GDP per capita for many years in a row. However, India received lower ranking in two parameters - human capital and research and market sophistication.

The report noted that the country improved in several areas which include government's online service, gross capital formation, e-participation, logistics performance, high-tech imports and industrial design, but it said that India still has more potential and business environment is an area where the country can improve on most indicators.

The CNX Nifty ended at 9576.95, down by 1.10 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 9565.50 and 9615.85. There were 25 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors - DVR up by 3.20%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.27%, ACC up by 1.92%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.65% and Tata Motors up by 1.58%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Lupin down by 4.34%, Sun Pharma down by 2.74%, Cipla down by 2.62%, Wipro down by 2.40% and Indiabulls Housing down by 1.74% were the top losers. (Provisional)

The European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 52.41 points or 0.71% to 7,471.77, Germany’s DAX increased 55.09 points or 0.43% to 12,746.90 and France’s CAC increased 43.26 points or 0.83% to 5,260.14.

Asian equity markets ended mostly in green on Friday as the yen weakened and oil prices steadied after two day of losses on supply concerns. Investors also heaved a sigh of relief after Greece and European creditors reached a deal on the next stages of Athens' €86bn bailout. Japanese shares hit one-week highs as the yen weakened against other major currencies after the Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy on hold, as widely expected, while upgrading its assessment of private consumption and overseas growth. However, China's stocks ended lower as weak producer inflation and investment data reinforced concerns of a renewed slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy.