MARKET WRAP: Indices end lower, Nifty fails to hold 10700; bank stocks fall

Benchmark indices edged lower on Friday as losses in financials offset gains in auto stocks, with investor focus shifting to the monsoons. 

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,227, down 95 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,696, down 40 points.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Bank index ended over 1% lower led by a fall in the shares of IndusInd Bank and Federal Bank.

Meanwhile, government data showed on Thursday that Indian economy grew 7.7% year-on-year in January-March, its quickest pace in nearly two years driven by higher growth in manufacturing, the farm sector and construction.

The faster pace of growth in the latest quarter might also strengthen expectations of an interest rate increase by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as its reviews monetary policy next week.

Amid othre macro data, India's manufacturing sector activity eased in May as new work orders rose at a weaker pace, while rising inflationary pressures might prompt the Reserve Bank to hike interest rates, says a monthly survey.

The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell from 51.6 in April to 51.2 in May.

MSCI ADDS CHINA-A SHARES TO EMERGING MARKETS INDEX

Global market research and index company MSCI Inc will add roughly 230 China-listed shares to its emerging market benchmark in a two-step process starting on June 1, a move expected to drive a surge of foreign money into the country's stock markets.

MSCI's decision a year ago to include yuan-denominated Chinese stocks, or "A-shares", into its emerging market (EM) index triggered a rally in Chinese blue-chips in 2017, though the market has corrected this year amid rising borrowing costs and fears of a Sino-U.S. trade war.

GLOBAL MARKETS
 

Asian equities recovered from early weakness on Friday as a lower yen supported Japanese stocks and firm exports boosted South Korean markets. Still, rekindled concerns about US trade policies limited regional gains.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1% but the index was still down roughly 0.6% for the week, during which it hit a six-week low on concerns about Italy’s struggle to form a government.

However, regional sentiment recovered somewhat with South Korea's KOSPI rising 0.7% on upbeat export data and Japan's Nikkei advancing 0.2% off the back of yen weakness against the dollar.
 

(with wire inputs)

3:43 PM

Nifty Bank index ends 0.98% lower. Top losers:

COMPANY	LATEST	PREV CLOSE	LOSS()	LOSS(%)
FEDERAL BANK	83.00	84.80	-1.80	-2.12
INDUSIND BANK	1915.40	1955.45	-40.05	-2.05
AXIS BANK	536.65	545.90	-9.25	-1.69
RBL BANK	507.55	515.90	-8.35	-1.62
HDFC BANK	2110.60	2139.45	-28.85	-1.35

3:37 PM

Nifty sectoral losers of the day

3:34 PM

BSE Sensex: Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki among top gainers of the day, ONGC top loser

3:31 PM

Market at close

 

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,227, down 95 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,696, down 40 points.

3:15 PM

Gold steady amid renewed trade tensions

Gold prices were steady in Asian trade on Friday on renewed fears of a global trade war, while a firm dollar and positive US economic data weighed on the market.

 

Spot gold was nearly unchanged at $1,298.29 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures for June delivery were down 0.2 percent at $1,298 per ounce. Spot gold is down slightly this week. READ MOER

Gold

2:59 PM

Move over dollar, next rally in EM currencies: Top investment manager

The dollar’s run is ending, and it’s time to return to emerging market currencies after their two-month slump, according to AMP Capital Investors Ltd.

 

The advance in Treasury yields across the curve will probably stall from here, while US-China trade tensions will turn from being dollar positive to negative, said Nader Naeimi, who runs AMP’s $1.2 billion Dynamic Markets Fund and has begun shorting the greenback. READ MORE

2:45 PM

COMPANY NEWS Adani Power Mundra likely to approach NCLT for bankruptcy protection

 

Adani Power Mundra, a subsidiary of Adani Power, is likely to approach the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for bankruptcy protection. This comes after its lenders stepped back from stake-sale negotiations with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL), the state power distribution company. READ MORE

2:30 PM

Sun TV falls

Sun TV Network fell for fifth straight session, down 3.9% at Rs 881.85, on the NSE. Sun TV Network jumped 5.69% in last one year as compared to a 10.94% rally in Nifty and a 1.48% spurt in the Nifty Media index.

2:15 PM

Asia Check

 

Asian equities recovered from early weakness on Friday as a lower yen supported Japanese stocks and firm exports boosted South Korean markets. Still, rekindled concerns about US trade policies limited regional gains.

 

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1% but the index was still down roughly 0.6% for the week.

 

However, regional sentiment recovered somewhat with South Korea's KOSPI rising 0.7% on upbeat export data and Japan's Nikkei advancing 0.2% off the back of yen weakness against the dollar.

2:01 PM

Market Check

S&P BSE Sensex	35,291.54		-0.09%
Nifty 50	10,705.60		-0.28%
S&P BSE 200	4,637.91		-0.35%
Nifty 500	9,262.15		-0.57%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	15,859.36		-0.96%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	17,017.07		-1.35%

1:45 PM

It may be too late to invest in this sparkling equity market; here's why

Most of Asia’s stock markets fell in May -- New Zealand was one of the rare exceptions. That could mean the future won’t be as bright.

 

Shrugging off trade tensions and Italy turmoil, the S&P/NZX 50 Index just posted its best month of the year and the biggest gain among regional gauges. As of Thursday’s close, it was on track to become one of the world’s best-performing developed equity markets for 2018. READ MORE

1:28 PM

Bajaj Auto spurts after strong sales in May

Bajaj Auto rose 4.84% to Rs 2,885.40 at 11:55 IST on BSE after the company reported a 30% growth in its total vehicles sales at 4.07 lakh units in May 2018 over May 2017. READ MORE

 

1:14 PM

Idea Cellular firms up on wrapping up tower sale

Idea Cellular rose 1.22% to Rs 62.40 on BSE after the company announced completion of sale of standalone tower business to ATC Telecom Infrastructure. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 31 May 2018. READ MORE

1:00 PM

Oil slip for bond market: Foreigners dump Indian paper at record pace

Foreign investors are dumping Indian bonds at a record pace as surging oil prices threaten to worsen the nation’s finances, stoke inflation and hurt economic growth.

 

Overseas funds have pulled $4.5 billion from the local debt market since the start of the year, the most in any year-to-date period in data going back to 1999. Second-quarter outflow was the biggest among the major Asian nations as Brent crude rose above $80 a barrel, the highest since 2014. READ MORE

12:47 PM

Sebi defers implementation of new higher margin norms for derivatives

Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has deferred the implementation of norms requiring brokers to collect higher upfront exposure from clients. The new norms were to come into effect from June 1. Instead, they will now come into effect from July 1, the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCCL), an arm of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), has said in a circular. READ MORE