A range bound movement was witnessed as key benchmark indices languished in negative zone in early afternoon trade. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market turned negative from positive. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was currently off 36.57 points or 0.13% at 28,186.51. Meanwhile, retirement fund manager Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will reportedly start investing in the stock market through the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) route from today, 6 August 2015. In overseas markets, Asian stocks edged lower as jitters about China's economy and upcoming US jobs data kept buying appetite in check.
Shares of index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC edged lower. Capital goods stocks rose. Shares of Siemens scaled record high after the company reported a sharp surge in net profit in Q3 June 2015. Telecom stocks rose.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 447.90 crore yesterday, 5 August 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 189.11 crore yesterday, 5 August 2015, as per provisional data.
In overseas markets, Asian stocks edged lower as jitters about China's economy and upcoming US jobs data kept buying appetite in check. US stocks closed mostly higher yesterday, 5 August 2015, in a choppy day of trading as investors digested conflicting economic data.
At 12:18 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 36.57 points or 0.13% at 28,186.51. The index gained 91.32 points at the day's high of 28,314.40 in early trade. The index fell 59.39 points at the day's low of 28,163.69 in early afternoon trade.
The 50-unit CNX Nifty was off 8.90 points or 0.1% at 8,559.05. The index hit a low of 8,551.50 in intraday trade. The index hit a high of 8,590.50 in intraday trade.
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The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market turned negative from positive in early afternoon trade. On BSE, 1,410 shares declined and 1,201 shares rose. A total of 100 shares were unchanged.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was off 17.97 points or 0.16% at 11,526.49. The BSE Small-Cap index was off 19.90 points or 0.16% at 12,116.11. The fall in both these indices was higher than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 1771 crore by 12:15 IST compared with turnover of Rs 1396 crore by 11:15 IST.
Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC dropped 1.9% to Rs 325.40. The stock hit a high of Rs 330 and low of Rs 324.45 so far during the day.
Capital goods stocks rose. ABB India (up 0.76%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) (up 0.26%), Punj Lloyd (up 2.79%), L&T (up 0.69%) and Thermax (up 1.11%) gained. Crompton Greaves fell 1.86%.
Siemens gained 2.3% to Rs 1,530. The stock hit a high of Rs 1,558 in intraday trade so far, which is record high for the stock. Siemens' net profit rose 1195.23% to Rs 168.25 crore on 1.29% increase in total income to Rs 2431.51 crore in Q3 June 2015 over Q3 June 2014. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 5 August 2015. Siemens' new orders declined 18.23% to Rs 2234.08 crore in Q3 June 2015 over Q3 June 2014.
Siemens' Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sunil Mathur said that order inflow in the company's energy vertical has not yet picked up. The company's continued focus on operational excellence is reflected in its improved profitability, he added.
Telecom stocks rose. Idea Cellular (up 1.63%), Bharti Airtel (up 0.14%), MTNL (up 2.38%) and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 0.65%) rose. Reliance Communications fell 1.04%.
Meanwhile, retirement fund manager Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will reportedly start investing in the stock market through the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) route from today, 6 August 2015. As per the decision by the central board of EPFO, the retirement fund manager will reportedly invest up to 5% of its incremental corpus in ETFs in the fiscal year through 31 March 2016. News reports today, 6 August 2015, suggested that EPFO will invest in two ETFs viz. the SBI Nifty ETF and SBI Sensex ETF.
Meanwhile, in the global commodities markets, Brent crude oil futures edged lower. Brent for September settlement was currently off 18 cents at $49.41 a barrel. The contract had declined 40 cents or 0.8% to settle at $49.59 a barrel during the previous trading session.
India imports about 80% of its crude requirements and a decline in crude eases concerns on fiscal deficit, inflation and gives more room for the government to boost growth through spending on infrastructure. However, a weakness in rupee against the dollar will restrict the benefit of falling global crude oil prices to that extent. A weak rupee raises the cost of imports.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was currently hovering at 63.795, compared with its close of 63.755 during the previous trading session.
Meanwhile, India's weather office, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a daily report issued yesterday, 5 August 2015, that the Southwest Monsoon was vigorous over Marathawada and Vidarbha and active over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam & Meghalaya, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim, West Madhya Pradesh and Madhya Maharashtra during past 24 hours until 8:30 IST. For the country as a whole, cumulative rainfall during this year's monsoon season was 6% below the Long Period Average (LPA) until 5 August 2015. Region wise, the rainfall was 21% below the LPA in South Peninsula, 9% below the LPA in East & Northeast India, 4% below the LPA in Central India and 5% above the LPA in Northwest India until 5 August 2015.
The June-September southwest monsoon is critical for the country's agriculture because a considerable part of the country's farmland is dependent on the rains for irrigation.
In overseas markets, Asian stocks edged lower today, 6 August 2015, as jitters about China's economy and upcoming US jobs data kept buying appetite in check. Key benchmark indices in China, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea fell by 0.17% to 1.17%. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.24%.
US stocks closed mostly higher yesterday, 5 August 2015, in a choppy day of trading as investors digested conflicting economic data. Activity in the services sector surged to a 10-year high of 60.3 in July, while private payroll growth was softer than expected. A report yesterday, 5 August 2015, showed that private employers added 185,000 jobs in July, down from the 229,000 jobs added in June. Meanwhile, the pace of growth in the US service sector soared in July, recording its best reading in a decade. The nonmanufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 60.3 in July from 56 in June, its highest reading since August 2005, the Institute for Supply Management said yesterday, 5 August 2015.
Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell yesterday, 5 August 2015, said that he was undecided about whether to support a rate hike when policy makers next meet in mid-September. Powell's remarks came after two Fed regional bank presidents have come out in favor of a September hike earlier this week.
The influential monthly US nonfarm payroll report for July 2015 is due tomorrow, 7 August 2015. The report will be scrutinized for clues to the strength of the labor-market recovery. Investors have been parsing economic data, from inflation to wages, for clues about when the Federal Reserve might raise rates.
In Europe, Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reportedly said yesterday, 5 August 2015, that Greece was close to concluding a deal with lenders on a multi-billion-euro bailout, which he said would end doubts over its place in the euro zone. An accord must be settled -- or a bridge loan agreed -- by 20 August 2015, when a 3.5 billion euro debt payment to the European Central Bank (ECB) falls due.
Meanwhile, the Bank of England (BoE) is widely expected to keep its key policy rate unchanged at 0.5% after a monetary policy review today, 6 August 2015.
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