Key benchmark indices languished in negative zone in mid-morning trade. At 11:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 49.81 points or 0.19% at 25,639.05. The Nifty 50 index was currently down 20.45 points or 0.26% at 7,845.60. The Nifty fell 28.35 points or 0.36% at the day's low of 7,837.70, in mid-morning trade. The index gained 7.95 points or 0.1% at the day's high of 7,874 at the onset of the trading session, its highest level since 3 May 2016. The Sensex shed 74.62 points or 0.29% at the day's low of 25,614.24 in mid-morning trade. The barometer index rose 21.80 points or 0.08% at the day's high of 25,710.69 at the onset of the trading session, its highest level since 29 April 2016.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. On BSE, 1,038 shares rose and 999 shares fell. A total of 125 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.08%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.14%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
In overseas stock markets, Asian stocks witnessed a mixed trend. Japanese stocks edged higher after finance minister Taro Aso told a parliamentary session today, 10 May 2016, that it would be natural for the Japanese government to intervene if the yen were to gain abruptly against the US dollar. The Nikkei 225 Average settled 1.97% higher. A strong local currency puts pressure on the earnings of exporters because it can make their goods more expensive overseas. The Japanese finance minister yesterday, 9 May 2016, said that he was prepared to undertake intervention in the foreign-exchange market.
Chinese stocks witnessed a mixed trend after inflation data. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite index was currently up 0.01%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was currently off 0.15%. The latest data showed that China's consumer price index remained unchanged at 2.3% in April from a year earlier. The producer price index declined 3.4% in April from a year earlier, compared with a 4.3% year on-year drop in March.
Most US stocks edged higher yesterday, 9 May 2016, as gains for drug companies were almost cancelled by sharp losses for metals and energy companies. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said in a speech yesterday, 9 May 2016, that he supported the current dovish stance of the Federal Reserve. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said in a speech in London yesterday, 9 May 2016, that a stronger labor market is underpinning growth prospects. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) next undertakes monetary policy review at a two-day meeting on 14-15 June 2016.
Shares of FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL) edged higher after the company's Chief Financial Officer P.B. Balaji was quoted as saying after the announcement of the company's Q4 March 2016 results yesterday, 9 May 2016, that he expects a sequential improvement in the company's sales volume growth in Q1 June 2016. The stock rose 2% to Rs 860. His comments came after the company reported a tepid volume growth in its domestic consumer business in Q4 March 2016. Volume growth stood at 4% on year-on-year basis in Q4 March 2016. Balaji was quoted as saying that the demand remains subdued, especially in rural areas, and a good monsoon would be a welcome tailwind. He also said that raw material prices are going up and HUL is considering options including price increases. The HUL stock shed 0.8% to settle at Rs 846.10 yesterday, 9 May 2016, after the company's tepid sales volume growth in Q4 March 2016 disappointed investors.
Telecom stocks declined. Reliance Communications (down 0.18%), Bharti Airtel (down 0.97%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 0.89%) and Idea Cellular (down 0.66%) declined.
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Shares of Bharti Infratel shed 0.25%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.
Cement stocks also dropped. ACC (down 0.58%), Ambuja Cements (down 0.98%), and UltraTech Cement (down 1.47%), declined. Shree Cement rose 0.1%.
Grasim Industries declined 0.21%. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
Datamatics Global Services (DGSL) rose 4.58% after the company announced that a consortium of the company and Mikroelektronika have won a contract to provide automatic fare collection (AFC) system for the North-South corridor (Phase IA) of the Lucknow Metro Rail project. The contract value is about Rs 64 crore.
Shares of microfinance firm Ujjivan Financial Services made a modest debut on the bourses. The stock was currently hovering at Rs 241.20, a premium of 14.86% over the initial public offer price of Rs 210. The stock debuted at Rs 227, a premium of 8.1% to the initial public offer (IPO) price. The stock hit a high of Rs 241.45 and low of Rs 217.05, so far during the day. On BSE, so far 49.68 lakh shares were traded on the counter.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) yesterday, 9 May 2016, notified that the aggregate ceiling on investment by Foreign Institutional Investors (FII)/Registered Foreign Portfolio Investors (RFPI) in Ujjivan Financial Services remains at 49%. The ceiling on total foreign investment in the company from all sources also remains at 49%.
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