Bourses add gains to reach at day’s highs

Indian equity bourses added gains in late afternoon session to reach at their intraday high points, tracking firm cues from European markets. Traders remained enthusiastic amid report that the finance ministry will come up with further reforms in the indirect tax system with the introduction of new return system, rationalization of cash ledger system and a single refund-disbursing mechanism, among others. Some support also came with a report that the government is working on a proposal to extend tax benefits to retail investors in its two exchange-traded funds - CPSE and Bharat-22 ETF.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, despite Eurozone manufacturing activity contracted for the fifth straight month in June and the latest pace of decline was slightly more than initially estimated. The final data from IHS Markit showed that the factory Purchasing Managers' Index fell to a 3-month low of 47.6 in June from 47.7 in May. The score was slightly weaker than the earlier flash reading of 47.8. Asian markets were also trading in green.

Back home, sugar industry stocks came under pressure, as industry body Indian Sugar Mills Association’s (ISMA) showed that India's sugar production is estimated to decline 14 per cent to 28.2 million tonne in the next marketing year starting October, mainly due to falling in sugarcane acreage due to fewer rains in states like Maharashtra and Karnataka.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39724.81, up by 330.17 points or 0.84% after trading in a range of 39541.09 and 39764.82. There were 25 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.55%, while Small cap index was up by 0.35%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.17%, Auto up by 1.35%, Healthcare up by 1.09%, Bankex up by 0.87% and Consumer Disc up by 0.81%, while Oil & Gas down by 1.55%, PSU down by 0.80% and Metal down by 0.16% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 4.00%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 2.89%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.42%, HDFC up by 2.10% and HDFC Bank up by 1.55%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 3.79%, HCL Tech down by 0.98%, Vedanta down by 0.20%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.19% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.17% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, after hitting three-month high in May, Indian manufacturing sector lost growth momentum in the month of June, on the back of softer increase in output. As per the survey report, the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) - a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance - eased to 52.1 in June from 52.7 in May.

The report found that a softer increase in new work intakes translated into slower rises in output and employment. The upturn in total sales was the second slowest in nine months, ahead of that noted in April. Further, growth of new export orders also showed signs of weakness, easing to the second-slowest in over a year.

Besides, suppliers comfortably accommodated for the uptick in input buying growth, as signaled by an overall reduction in delivery times. Subsequently, input stocks rose further. On price front, only a moderate increase in input costs reported, which in turn supported another round of selling charges discounting.

Manufacturers remained upbeat about growth prospects in June, with marketing initiatives, stable political conditions and forecasts of a pick-up in demand underpinning positive sentiment. However, the degree of optimism weakened slightly from that recorded in May.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11870.50, up by 81.65 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 11830.80 and 11884.65. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 3.88%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 3.71%, Zee Entertainment up by 3.50%, Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 2.53% and Bajaj Auto up by 2.47%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 3.85%, BPCL down by 3.12%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 2.60%, Coal India down by 1.56% and HCL Tech. down by 0.99% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 454.05 points or 2.13% to 21,729.97, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 164.63 points or 1.53% to 10,895.46, Shanghai Composite gained 63.55 points or 2.13% to 3,042.43, Straits Times advanced 48.27 points or 1.45% to 3,369.88 and Jakarta Composite soared 27.65 points or 0.43% to 6,386.28. On the flip side, KOSPI was down by 0.88 points or 0.04% to 2,129.74.

All European markets were trading in green; FTSE gained 77.63 points or 1.05% to 7,503.26, CAC rose 37.60 points or 0.68% to 5,576.57 and DAX was up by 155.54 points or 1.25% to 12,554.34.