Key benchmarks slide in volatile session

Key benchmark indices provisionally settled lower after a volatile trading session. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 14.04 points or 0.04% to 31,297.53, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index fell 6.10 points or 0.06% to 9,651.45, as per the provisional closing data. Selling in banking pivotals put pressure on the key indices.

The Sensex reversed trend after hitting its highest intraday level in two weeks in early trade. The Nifty reversed trend after hitting its highest intraday level in 1-1/2 week in mid-morning trade. The Sensex fell 50.08 points, or 0.16% at the day's low of 31,261.49 in mid-afternoon trade. The index rose 80.96 points, or 0.26% at the day's high of 31,392.53 in early trade, its highest level since 6 June 2017. The index rose 18.95 points, or 0.20% at the day's high of 9,676.50 in mid-morning trade, its highest level since 8 June 2017. The Nifty fell 13.80 points, or 0.14% at the day's low of 9,643.75 in mid-afternoon trade

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index provisionally rose 0.19%. The BSE Small-Cap index provisionally rose 0.16%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1,431 shares fell and 1,229 shares rose. A total of 168 shares were unchanged.

Most capital good shares declined. Punj Lloyd (down 2.99%), Lakshmi Machine Works (down 1.54%), GE T&D India (down 1.1%), SKF India (down 0.93%), ABB India (down 0.45%), Bharat Electronics (down 0.42%), Suzlon Energy (down 0.27%), Crompton Greaves (down 0.24%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (down 0.18%) and GE Power India (down 0.03%), edged lower. Thermax (up 0.26%), Havells India (up 0.40%), Siemens (up 0.81%), AIA Engineering (up 1.12%), Praj Industries (up 2.04%), Reliance Defence and Engineering (up 3.18%), BEML (up 4.78%) and Jindal Saw (up 6.51%), edged higher.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) fell 0.14% to Rs 1,751.75.

Shares of three airliners rose after the traffic data showed passengers carried by domestic airlines rose 17.36% to 1.01 crore in May 2017 over May 2016. The traffic data was announced by the Ministry of Civil Aviation after market hours yesterday, 19 June 2017. Jet Airways (up 0.81%) and Interglobe Aviation (up 2.83%), gained.

SpiceJet gained 1.77% after the company and Boeing signed a memorandum of understanding for 40 737 MAX airplanes. The company made the announcement after market hours yesterday, 19 June 2017. SpiceJet said that the agreement, valued at approximately $4.74 billion at current list prices, is split evenly between 20 new orders for the 737 MAX 10 and conversions of 20 of the low-cost carrier's 737 MAX 8 airplanes of its current order to 737 MAX 10s. The traffic data showed passengers carried by domestic airlines rose 17.63% to 4.65 crore in January-May, 2017 over January-May, 2016.

Meanwhile, oil prices held steady on the heels of seven-month lows, with investors remaining dubious about how effective the production cuts spearheaded by Saudi Arabia and Russia have been and will be. In the global commodities markets, Brent for August 2017 settlement was down 4 cents at $46.87 a barrel. The contract had fallen 46 cents to settle at $46.91 a barrel during the previous trading session.

Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF) typically makes up almost half of an airline's operating cost. Prices of jet fuel are directly linked to crude oil prices. State-run oil marketing companies revise jet fuel prices on the last day of every month based on the average international crude price.

Tata Power Company gained 5.51% to Rs 82.30 after reports suggesting that the company is expected to dilute its stake in Indian Energy Exchange through initial public offering. Tata Power Company is one of shareholders of Indian Energy Exchange that has filed draft red herring prospectus with capital markets regulator to float an initial public offering (IPO), report added.

Existing shareholders including Tata Power Company, private equity arm of Aditya Birla Group, Madison India Capital and Renuka Ramnath-led Multiples Alternate Asset Management will sell 60.65 lakh shares in the company via IPO, report said. Besides, AF Holdings, Kiran Vyapar, Golden Oak (Mauritius) and IEX's former chief executive Jayant Deo, will also offload shares in the public issue, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).

IEX is India's premier power trading platform. Providing an automated platform for physical delivery of electricity, IEX enables efficient price discovery and offers participants the opportunity to trade in a variety of energy products.

HCL Technologies rose 1.41% to Rs 854 after the company announced the launch of its next generation research platform, a pre-competitive drug discovery ecosystem built with open standards. The announcement was made during market hours today, 20 June 2017.

HCL Technologies said that the platform will provide research scientists with a collaborative ecosystem, greater computational resources, and the ability to mine research data to make more informed scientific decision, while improving productivity by automating and eliminating manual administrative tasks. The NGRP is designed to alleviate the technological, economic, and administrative costs that legacy systems and aging technologies pose to Pharma companies.

Overseas, European stocks were trading higher led by advances among tech and consumer-related shares. Reports indicated that Brexit is likely to be on the agenda for investors on Tuesday following the start of Brexit negotiations on Monday, where the EU and UK's chief Brexit negotiators agreed that talks up until October should concentrate on citizens' rights, a financial settlement and other separation matters.

Asian shares ended on a mixed note amid speculation on whether China would be added to the MSCI emerging markets index on the fourth try. Investors are keeping an eye on the decision on whether to include China A-shares in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. This will be China's fourth attempt at MSCI inclusion, after being passed over the first three times.

US stocks rose overnight with both the Dow and the S&P 500 ending at new records as technology shares rebounded from a recent bout of sharp weakness to lead the market higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 144.71 points, or 0.7%, to 21,528.99. The S&P 500 gained 20.31 points, or 0.8% to 2,453.46. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 87.25 points, or 1.4% to 6,239.01.

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