MARKET WRAP: Sensex ends 267 pts up; HUL, RIL HDFC twins among key gainers

The benchmark indices settled higher on Wednesday despite concerns in the global markets, including - trade war worries and oil prices.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,645, up 267 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,770, up 70 points. Gains in the S&P BSE Sensex were led by Bajaj Auto, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Reliance Industries (RIL), HDFC and HDFC Bank that firmed up 1.5 per cent to 4.4 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, the Nifty Auto index settled 1.25% higher led by a rise in the shares of Bajaj Auto, TVS Motos and Maruti Suzuki. The Nifty Pharma index also rose 0.8% as stocks of Lupin, Dr Reddy's and Cadila Healthcare rallied between 1.9 per cent to 3.9 per cent.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks slipped on Wednesday as an end-of-week deadline for US tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports loomed while the yuan stabilised after China's central bank moved to calm nervous investors.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.25 per cent, a day after it hit a nine-month low. Japan's Nikkei erased earlier losses to stand flat by late afternoon. Mainland Chinese shares dropped, with CSI300 Index off 0.7 per cent.
 

Many investors fear Washington will go ahead with its plan to impose tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods on July 6, which Beijing has vowed to match with tariffs on US products, raising the risk of a full-blown trade war.

OIL PRICES

Oil prices edged up on Wednesday following a report of tightening US fuel inventories amid an outage at Syncrude Canada oil sands facility in Alberta, which usually supplies the United States.

Prices were also pushed up by looming US sanctions against Iran, which threaten to cut supplies to an already tight market despite pledges by producer cartel OPEC to raise output to make up for the disruptions.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures had risen 37 cents (0.4 per cent) to $74.51 a barrel, compared with their last settlement. On Tuesday, WTI hit its highest since November 2014 at $75.27. Brent crude futures were changing hands at $78.04 per barrel, up 28 cents (0.4 per cent) from their last close.

MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE ON FARM PRODUCE

Back home, the government today hiked the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy by a steep Rs 200 per quintal as it looked to fulfil its poll promise to give farmers 50 per cent more rate than their cost of production.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) at its meeting today approved the MSP of 14 Kharif (summer-sown) crops.

(With wire inputs)

3:58 PM

MARKET COMMENT Jayant Manglik, President, Religare Broking

We expect the Indian equities to remain range bound in the coming sessions. Domestic macro data and movement of currency & crude oil will dictate the further course of the market in the near term. Market participants would also closely monitor the trade tension between US & China. Under uncertain domestic and global environment, steady reform implementation and revival in the corporate earnings is essential for the markets. We advise traders to trade cautiously whereas investors can continue to accumulate fundamentally sound companies

3:43 PM

Nifty Auto index ended 1.25% higher. Top gainers:

COMPANY	LATEST	PREV CLOSE	GAIN( )	GAIN(%)
BAJAJ AUTO	2979.05	2862.40	116.65	4.08
TVS MOTOR CO.	581.40	561.15	20.25	3.61
MARUTI SUZUKI	9220.80	8975.15	245.65	2.74
BHARAT FORGE	636.75	620.40	16.35	2.64
AMARA RAJA BATT.	777.00	762.35	14.65	1.92

3:38 PM

Nifty sectoral performers of the day

3:34 PM

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

3:31 PM

Market at close

 

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 35,645, up 267 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,770, up 70 points.

3:17 PM

In big jump, SMEs raise Rs 8.25 billion through IPOs in April-June quarter

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) raised a staggering Rs 8.25 billion through initial public offerings in the first quarter of 2018-19, more than a two-fold jump from the preceding financial year.

 

Funds raised through initial public offers (IPOs) were meant for business expansion plans, working capital requirements and other general corporate purposes, according to offer documents. READ MORE

3:00 PM

FMCG shares gain as Cabinet clears MSP for khariff crops; HUL hits new high

Shares of fast moving consumer goods companies (FMCG) have moved higher by 12% after the Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs on Wednesday cleared an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for kharif crops for the 2018-19 season.

 

Kohinoor Foods, LT Foods, IFB Agro Industries and Radico Khaitan from the S&P BSE FMCG index were up in the range of 5% to 12% on the BSE. Gillette India, Bajaj Corp, Kaveri Seed Company, Colgate-Palmolive (India) and Jyothy Laboratories up between 1% and 3%, while Hindustan Unilever up 2% to Rs 1,673, hit a new high on the BSE. READ MORE

2:45 PM

Top BSE500 gainers

COMPANY	PRICE( )	CHG( )	CHG(%)	VOLUME
I T D C	408.40	50.10	13.98	35006
INDO COUNT INDS.	67.35	7.30	12.16	207721
8K MILES	344.80	27.45	8.65	316185
BLISS GVS PHARMA	178.95	13.95	8.45	26211
SOBHA	481.00	36.45	8.20	43572

2:31 PM

Don't sell cryptocurrencies in panic even as banking services are stopped

 

From this Friday, investors won’t be able to transfer funds to domestic exchanges to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has told banks to discontinue banking services to those who deal with virtual currencies by July 6.

 

Consequently, cryptocurrency exchanges have asked their customers to withdraw funds from their accounts immediately. If they don’t, the customers might not be able to withdraw unless the banking services are restored. READ MORE

2:16 PM

Was the EPFO ahead of the curve in its preference for passive funds?

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation’s dependence on low-cost passive funds is starting to look smarter every day, as active fund managers struggle to meet benchmark returns. An analysis of data from fund tracker Value Research shows that most funds have failed to beat their benchmarks in both the large-cap and mid-cap space. READ MORE

2:00 PM

Market Check

S&P BSE Sensex	35,549.06		0.48%
Nifty 50	10,745.00		0.42%
S&P BSE 200	4,617.72		0.26%
Nifty 500	9,171.05		0.24%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	15,365.55		-0.49%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	16,004.82		0.09%

1:45 PM

Equity capital raising at three-year high; Axis Bank tops the league table

 

Equity issuances by domestic companies stood at $11.7 billion in the first half of 2018 (1H2018), reporting an increase of 11.2 per cent over the same period last year. This was the strongest first-half period for domestic equity capital market (ECM) activity, according to Thomson Reuters.

 

Initial public offerings raised a total of $3.8 billion, up 43.2 per cent in proceeds from the same period last year. It was the highest first-half period for Indian IPOs since 2008, when $4.3 billion was mopped up. READ MORE

1:31 PM

Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto extend gains post June sale

 

Shares of Maruti Suzuki India and Bajaj Auto were quoting higher for the third straight trading day after these companies delivered a healthy volume performance in June’18 on lower year on year (YoY) base led by pre Goods and Services Tax (GST)-led disruptions.

 

Maruti Suzuki India was up 1.6% to Rs 9,122, gaining 3% in past three trading sessions, after the company delivered strong performance in June’18, with its monthly vehicle sales standing at 144,981 units (+36% YoY and -16% MoM). The company’s month on month (MoM) sales decline was due to half yearly maintenance shutdown during last week of the month. Its UV segment grew by 39% YoY (-25% MoM) supported by healthy sales of Brezza and S-Cross. Read More

1:15 PM

Dear govt, bond with investors; just throwing cash won't help state lenders

 

For the first time in almost seven years, the benchmark Indian government bond has rounded off four straight quarters of losses. The jump in the 5-year yield has been almost 2 percentage points since December 2016, the biggest surge among 14 Asian local-currency benchmarks. Foreigners have already pulled out more than $6 billion from Indian bond markets this year.

 

It’s hard to see how yields can be contained below 8 per centt for much longer. Global oil prices and the cost of capital are both rising. New Delhi’s fiscal calculations are going awry just as the banking system sinks deeper into a morass. READ MORE

1:00 PM

End of cryptocurrency story in India as SC refuses to overturn ban

The Supreme Court refused to overturn a central bank ban on lenders from dealing in cryptocurrencies, a move that effectively outlaws the nascent industry in Asia’s third-largest economy. READ MORE