Benchmarks continue lackluster trade slightly in green

Indian equity benchmarks continued their lackluster trade slightly in green in afternoon session, ahead of index of industrial production (IIP) data for May and CPI inflation for June scheduled to be released today. Traders were taking support with statement of Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will help bring down the inflation by one to two percent by the end of this year. He also said that the government’s objective is to ensure that inflation does not increase, and added that the government has tried to keep items frequently used by the consumers under the lower tax bracket. Besides, recovery in the rupee value against dollar also supported the sentiment. The rupee was trading strong at 64.51 against the US dollar on increased selling of the greenback by banks and exporters along with continued foreign fund inflows. In scrip specific development, Tata Motors was up by around a percent after launching three new products in the SCV Range with the XL portfolio - Ace Mega XL, Ace Zip XL and Ace XL.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as investors remained cautious ahead of Federal Reserve Char Janet Yellen's Congressional testimony later in the day. Also, investors digested the release of a series of emails by Donald Trump Jr. that cited Russian support for his father's 2016 presidential campaign. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31759.55, up by 12.46 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 31731.43 and 31865.69. There were 18 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.53%, while Small cap index was up by 0.20%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.36%, Energy up by 1.03%, PSU up by 0.86%, Consumer Durables up by 0.69% and Telecom up by 0.66%, while IT down by 0.15% and Bankex down by 0.01% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 3.03%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.80%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 1.31%, Tata Motors up by 1.04% and Power Grid up by 0.71%. On the flip side, TCS down by 0.70%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.51%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.50%, ITC down by 0.48% and Hero MotoCorp down by 0.45% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the finance ministry is preparing to introduce the amendment of the Banking Regulation Act, repeal of State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 along with several other bills in the monsoon session of Parliament, likely to begin on July 17.

Besides, the government is working on the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes and Protection of Depositors Interests Bill. The Department of Financial Services (DFS) is preparing a draft bill in this regard and will shortly approach the cabinet for its nod. The proposed legislation seeks to provide a comprehensive code to ban unregulated deposit schemes and protect interests of depositors. The DFS is also working on introducing an amendment in the Negotiable Instruments Act (NIA) in the upcoming session.

Also, the government is likely to introduce the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill. The proposed law deals in matters concerning insolvency of banks, insurance companies and other financial services firms under the Bankruptcy Code, 2016. Last month, the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved the proposal to introduce the bill in Parliament.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9798.30, up by 12.25 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 9787.70 and 9823.00. There were 34 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index, while 2 stock remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 3.00%, ACC up by 2.47%, Bharti Infratel up by 2.10%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.95% and Ambuja Cement up by 1.72%. On the flip side, TCS down by 0.73%, Bank of Baroda down by 0.71%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.57%, HDFC down by 0.52% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.52% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 decreased 97.1 points or 0.48% to 20,098.38, Shanghai Composite shed 11.77 points or 0.37% to 3,191.26, KOSPI Index was down by 4.23 points or 0.18% to 2,391.77 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 1.16 points or 0.07% to 1,753.87.

On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted increased 5.11 points or 0.05% to 10,420.68, Jakarta Composite rose 24.88 points or 0.43% to 5,798.21 and Hang Seng added 169.61 points or 0.66% to 26,047.25.