Benchmarks continue to hold their head above water

In an extremely range-bound session of trade, Indian equity benchmarks continued to hold their head above water on sustained and selective buying by funds and retail investors amid firm global cues.  Sentiments remained subdued with the report that the current account deficit soared to $3.4 billion, or 0.6 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), in the fourth quarter of financial year 2017, from $0.3 billion a year ago. Balance of payments for the full financial year stood at $21.6 billion, while for Q4 the same stood at $7.31 billion. However, investors’ risk appetite got a push with the report that India’s exports 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. Some support also came with the report that government is looking to clear FDI proposals in the 11 sectors, such as defence, insurance and telecom, where approval is still required within eight to 10 weeks of receipt of application to boost the investment climate after the abolition of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher on Friday, shrugging off technology-led declines overnight in the US, as a stronger US dollar boosted export stocks in the region. Japan's Nikkei share average rose to a one-week high on Friday as the yen dropped, after an expected policy decision by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) provided relief to investors. BOJ also left unchanged a loose pledge to keep increasing bond holdings at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen ($729 billion). It upgraded its assessment of private consumption and overseas growth, signalling confidence that an export-driven economic recovery was broadening and gaining momentum. However, China's market was on course to break a five-week rising streak, while Hong Kong's share benchmark was poised to post its biggest weekly loss in three months, as rising U.S. interest rates stoked fears of capital outflows from the region.

Back home, stocks from Realty, FMCG and Consumer Durables counters were supporting the markets’ uptrend, while those from Healthcare and IT counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, Ipca Laboratories slipped after the US Food and Drugs Administration (USFDA) refused admission to all drugs made at the company's Pithampur and Silvassa facility. On the other hand, Century Plyboards (India) gained after the company’s subsidiary acquired 49% stake in Huesoulin Wood Processing Factory, thereby making it an associate company.

The market breadth remained optimistic, as there were 1355 shares on the gaining side against 947 shares on the losing side, while 136 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31090.64, up by 14.91 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 31072.51 and 31182.73. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.29%, while Small cap index up by 0.43%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.23%, FMCG up by 0.69%, Consumer Durables up by 0.66%, Telecom up by 0.43% and Basic Materials up by 0.42%, while Healthcare down by 1.19%, IT down by 0.52% and TECK down by 0.36% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 1.62%, Tata Motors up by 1.05%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.03%, GAIL India up by 0.89% and Coal India up by 0.79%. On the flip side, Lupin down by 4.20%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 2.37%, Wipro down by 2.03%, Cipla down by 1.58% and Sun Pharma down by 1.42% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to guard domestic players from cheap imports, the government has levied a definitive anti-dumping duty on Hydrogen Peroxide chemical, largely used in corrosion control and bleaching, exported from Bangladesh, Taiwan, Korea RP, Indonesia, Pakistan and Thailand. As per circular published by the revenue department, the duty will be effective for a period of 5 years in a range from $16.91-$117.94 per tone, depending on the producer and exporter.

The Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) after the investigation recommended the imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of the subject goods originating in or exported from the subject countries and it found that the subject goods have been exported to India from the subject countries (other than Indonesia) below its normal value, causing material injury to the domestic industry.

Earlier, National Peroxide Ltd and Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd had appealed to DGAD to initiate a probe into the indiscriminate dumping of the chemical in the Indian market. It was also supported by Gujarat Alkalies.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9586.60, up by 8.55 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 9581.80 and 9615.85. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index, while one stock remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Infratel up by 1.73%, ITC up by 1.64%, Aurobindo Pharma up by 1.52%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.14% and Indusind Bank up by 1.12%. On the flip side, Lupin down by 3.92%, Wipro down by 2.17%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 2.15%, Cipla down by 1.59% and Sun Pharma down by 1.14% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.15%, Taiwan Weighted increased 0.68%, Hang Seng added 0.35% and Nikkei 225 was up by 0.39%. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite decreased 0.48%, Shanghai Composite shed 0.3% and KOSPI Index was down by 0.02%.