Indian benchmarks continue to trade in green in noon session

Trading in tight range for most part of the morning trade, Indian benchmarks continued their consolidation in noon session, as tensions after North Korea fired a missile into Japanese waters kept the global markets subdued. North Korea said it had conducted a test of a newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile that can carry a large and heavy nuclear warhead. Investors also awaited minutes of the Fed's June meeting to gauge how committed it was to hiking rates this year. However, the local markets remained in positive territory, taking support from domestic cause like India's services PMI (Purchase Managers' Index) rose to an eight month high in June at 53.1 as against 52.2 in May of 2017. This was also the fifth consecutive month of expansion as business environment for services sector in the country continued to improve. Some support also came with the report that global & domestic private equity funds have pumped in around $11.3 billion in the country for the first half of the current year ending June 30, making it the record highest foreign direct investment into the country.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher on Wednesday, despite geopolitical concerns due to tensions on the Korean peninsula, with investors seeking out safe-haven assets such as the Japanese yen and gold. The South Korean defense ministry confirmed that the missile launched by North Korea on Tuesday was an intercontinental ballistic missile. Further, a holiday in the United States and a dearth of major data kept activity muted across Asia, though minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting due later in the day could provide some impetus.

Back home, stocks from Basic Materials, Energy and Metal counters were supporting the markets’ uptrend, while those from Telecom, Teck and IT counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, Mcnally Bharat Engineering Company rallied after the company received an order for Construction of Entry/Exit structure of Elamkulam Station and Balance Works in the Main Station Building at Elamkulam from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for a value of approximately Rs 43.49 crore. 

The market breadth remained optimistic, as there were 1516 shares on the gaining side against 844 shares on the losing side, while 118 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31244.10, up by 34.31 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 31189.90 and 31284.64. There were 20 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.65%, while Small cap index up by 0.85%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Basic Materials up by 1.02%, Energy up by 1.01%, Metal up by 0.96%, Industrials up by 0.80% and Oil & Gas up by 0.77%, while Telecom down by 0.50%, TECK down by 0.44%, IT down by 0.41%, FMCG down by 0.28% and Consumer Durables down by 0.22% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.42%, Asian Paints up by 1.44%, Reliance Industries up by 1.36%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 1.35% and Axis Bank up by 1.28%. On the flip side, ITC down by 1.04%, HDFC down by 1.02%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.96%, Infosys down by 0.91% and Wipro down by 0.77% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, driven by demand in major markets like the US, the current financial year has begun well for the country’s gems and jewellery sector, as exports increased by 11.13 per cent to $6.78 billion during first two months (April-May) of the financial year 2017, compared to $6.1 billion exports from the sector in April-May period of the last financial year.

As per the data from Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), the rise in demand for silver jewellery and gold medallions & coins among other items led to rise in the shipments. In the reported period, silver jewellery exports surged by 125 per cent to $1.51 billion from $0.67 billion, while gold medallions & coins exports grew by 49.95 per cent to $1 billion from $0.67 billion.

Besides, the exports of rough diamonds went up by 15.31 per cent to $0.25 billion. Similarly, shipments of cut & polished diamonds and coloured gem stones registered a growth of 1.09 percent and 1.47 per cent respectively. However, the gold jewellery exports declined by 35.59 per cent to $0.54 billion during April-May 2017, while imports of rough diamonds rose by about 6 per cent to $3.60 billion in April-May 2017.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9630.75, up by 17.45 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 9607.35 and 9637.10. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index, while one stock remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.35%, Bank of Baroda up by 1.69%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.63%, Reliance Industries up by 1.52% and Ambuja Cement up by 1.20%. On the flip side, ITC down by 1.16%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.12%, Infosys down by 1.07%, Aurobindo Pharma down by 0.84% and HDFC down by 0.82% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.04%, KOSPI Index increased by 0.31%, Shanghai Composite gained 0.45%, Nikkei 225 edged up 0.17%, Taiwan Weighted added 0.55% and Hang Seng was up by 0.53%. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was down by 0.24%.