Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.

Sensex hits highest level in almost 6 weeks

Image
Capital Market
Last Updated : Jul 01 2015 | 2:47 PM IST

Taking cues from initial gains for European stocks there, key equity benchmark indices in India extended intraday gains in afternoon trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, hit its highest level in almost six weeks and the 50-unit CNX Nifty hit its highest level in more than four weeks. The Sensex regained the the psychological 28,000 mark. Earlier, the Sensex had fallen below the psychological 28,000 mark after surpassing that level in morning trade. The broad market depicted strength. There were more than two gainers against every loser on BSE. The Sensex was currently up 238.08 points or 0.86% at 28,018.91. The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.33%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.48%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

Global markets stabilized even as Greece ended up defaulting on its euro 1.55 billion loan ($1.73 billion) to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday, 30 June 2015, with creditors rejecting a last-ditch effort to buy more time.

Metal and mining stocks edged higher on renewed buying. FMCG stocks were mostly higher. Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) edged higher after the company said that it has added another feather in its cap by successfully commissioning the 500 megawatts (MW) Kosti Thermal Power Station (TPS) in Sudan.

Meanwhile, Revenue secretary Shaktikanta Das was quoted as saying today, 1 July 2015, that the government will provide a roadmap for ending corporate tax exemptions in next 45 days as part of a plan to lower the corporate tax rate to 25% in four years.

Meanwhile, growth in India's manufacturing sector output eased last month as new orders rose at weaker rate, according to a monthly survey released by Markit Economics today, 1 July 2015. Separately, data released by the government after trading hours yesterday, 30 June 2015, showed that the output of Eight Core Industries increased 4.4% in May 2015 over May 2014.

Meanwhile, global credit rating agency Moody's Investor Service said its latest quarterly publication that a sustained soft patch for India's rural economy would weigh on private consumption and non-performing assets in the agricultural sector, which is a credit negative for the sovereign and banks.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded shares worth a net Rs 551.38 crore yesterday, 30 June 2015, as per the provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutions bought shares worth a net Rs 580.59 crore yesterday, 30 June 2015, as per the provisional data released by the stock exchanges.

More From This Section

In overseas markets, Asian and European stocks edged higher as investors appeared to take developments in the Greek debt crisis in stride. US stocks ended a choppy trading session higher yesterday, 30 June 2015.

At 13:15 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 238.08 points or 0.86% at 28,018.91. The index jumped 245.49 points at the day's high of 28,026.32 in afternoon trade, its highest level since 22 May 2015. The index gained 19.08 points at the day's low of 27,799.91 at the onset of the trading session.

The 50-unit CNX Nifty was up 81.55 points or 0.97% at 8,450.05. The index hit a high of 8,450.45 in intraday trade, its highest level since 1 June 2015. The index hit a low of 8,370.15 in intraday trade.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 142.18 points or 1.33% at 10,822.17. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 164.37 points or 1.48% at 11,239.72. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was quite strong. There were more than two gainers against every loser on BSE. 1,782 shares rose and 724 shares fell. A total of 103 shares were unchanged.

Metal and mining stocks edged higher on renewed buying. Steel Authority of India (up 3.43%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 2.86%), National Aluminium Company (up 1.5%), JSW Steel (up 1.74%), Vedanta (up 1.47%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.16%), Tata Steel (up 1%) and Hindustan Zinc (up 1.26%) edged higher. NMDC (down 0.46%) edged lower.

FMCG stocks were mostly higher. Tata Global Beverages (up 2%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (up 1.26%), Hindustan Unilever (up 0.86%), Dabur India (up 0.82%), Jyothy Laboratories (up 0.63%), Bajaj Corp (up 0.82%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.02%) and Britannia Industries (up 0.02%) edged higher. GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare (down 1.06%), Nestle India (down 1.26%), Marico (down 0.18%) and Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (down 0.05%) edged lower.

Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) edged higher after the company said that it has added another feather in its cap by successfully commissioning the 500 megawatts (MW) Kosti Thermal Power Station (TPS) in Sudan. The stock was up 2.64% at Rs 254.40. The announcement was made during market hours today, 1 July 2015. Significantly, Kosti TPS (4X125 MW) is now Sudan's largest power plant, Bhel said. Bhel is presently executing several major projects outside India.

Meanwhile, Revenue secretary Shaktikanta Das was quoted as saying today, 1 July 2015, that the government will provide a roadmap for ending corporate tax exemptions in next 45 days as part of a plan to lower the corporate tax rate to 25% in four years. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while presenting his annual budget in February, had announced that the government would gradually pare corporate tax by 5 percent during the next four years from 30% and roll back various tax exemptions.

Growth in India's manufacturing sector output eased last month as new orders rose at weaker rate, according to a monthly survey released by Markit Economics today, 1 July 2015. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped to 51.3 in June 2015 from 52.6 in May 2015. Commenting on the Indian Manufacturing PMI survey data, Pollyanna De Lima, Economist at Markit and author of the report, said that new business expanded at a noticeably weaker pace, in part reflecting a loss of momentum in export business. Moreover, manufacturers remained in cautious spirits and employment numbers were unchanged once again. Nonetheless, broad-based increases in both production and order book volumes were maintained, with consumer, intermediate and investment goods producers all recording growth. On the price front, there was welcome news from an easing in inflation rates. Costs and charges both rose at rates that were historically muted. With price pressures being weak and growth losing steam, June's data set suggests that the Reserve Bank of India's loosening cycle is, therefore, likely to continue, Pollyanna De Lima said.

Meanwhile, data released by the government after trading hours yesterday, 30 June 2015, showed that the output of Eight Core Industries increased 4.4% in May 2015 over May 2014. The cumulative growth during April to May 2015 was 2.1% over the corresponding period in the previous year.

Meanwhile, global credit rating agency Moody's Investor Service said its latest quarterly publication that a sustained soft patch for India's rural economy would weigh on private consumption and non-performing assets in the agricultural sector, which is a credit negative for the sovereign and banks. Moody's expects India's weakened rural economy to remain subdued through the fiscal year ending March 2016 (FY2016), particularly if the risk of below-average monsoon rainfall materializes.

According to the rating agency, the multi-party, federal democracy in India underpins a gradual pace of policy implementation in the country. While many of the policies are positive for India's institutional strength, the direct impact of growth-enhancing reforms is only likely to take full effect over a multi-year horizon.

Meanwhile, the India's weather office, the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said in its daily monsoon update issued yesterday, 30 June 2015, that the Southwest Monsoon was vigorous over East Uttar Pradesh and active over Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir during the past 24 hours until 8:30 IST.

For the country as a whole, the cumulative rainfall during this year's monsoon season was 16% above the Long Period Average (LPA) until 30 June 2015. Region wise, the southwest monsoon was 31% above the LPA in Northwest India, 23% above the LPA in Central India, 19% above the LPA in South Peninsula and 1% above the LPA in East & Northeast India until 30 June 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, European stocks edged higher in early trade today, 1 July 2015, as investors appeared to take developments in the Greek debt crisis in stride. Key indices in Germany, UK and France were up 0.76% to 0.96%. In Italy, the FTSE MIB index was currently up 0.84%. In Spain, the IBEX 35 index was currently up 0.38%.

Greece became the first developed country to default on the International Monetary Fund yesterday, 30 June 2015, as the rescue program that has sustained it for five years expired and its creditors rejected a last-ditch effort to buy more time. The Washington-based fund said in a statement issued yesterday, 30 June 2015, that the Greek government failed to transfer euro 1.55 billion ($1.73 billion) by close-of-business on Tuesday, 30 June 2015, to the IMF. This is the largest, single missed repayment in the IMF's history. The failure to pay the IMF was a dramatic, if anticipated, conclusion to a day full of unexpected twists and turns.

Mr. Gerry Rice, Director of Communications at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the IMF received a request on Tuesday, 30 June 2015, from the Greek authorities for an extension of Greece's repayment obligation, which will go to the IMF's Executive Board in due course.

Greece shut down its banking system, ordering lenders to stay closed for six days from 29 June 2015 to avoid a run on the country's banks and the nation's central bank moved to impose controls to prevent money from flooding out of the country. Negotiations between Greece and its creditors collapsed after Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on 26 June 2015 unexpectedly called for a referendum on whether to accept reform measures demanded by the country's lenders.

On 28 June 2015, the European Central Bank froze emergency loans to Greek banks at their current level of around euro 89 billion, a move that left Greek authorities with little choice but to keep the country's banks closed.

Tsipras has called a referendum on Sunday, 5 July 2015, on whether the country should accept creditors' bailout terms. Greeks will be asked to decide whether to accept reform measures demanded by the country's lenders that would ultimately unlock about euro 15.3 billion in funds. A "no" vote by Greeks could force the country out of the eurozone and push the country into what could be the darkest chapter of its six-year debt crisis.

Asian stocks edged higher today, 1 July 2015, as investors appear to take in stride Greece's missed loan payment to the IMF. Key equity benchmark indices Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan were up 0.17% to 1.14%. China's Shanghai Composite was down 5.23%. The stock market in Hong Kong was closed for holiday.

In China, HSBC China manufacturing purchasing managers' index, a gauge of nationwide manufacturing activity, rose to a final reading of 49.4 in June from 49.2 in May, HSBC Holdings PLC and research firm Markit said today, 1 July 2015.

China's official manufacturing purchasing managers index was flat at 50.2 in June compared with a month ago, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, which issues the data with the National Bureau of Statistics, said in a statement. China's official nonmanufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 53.8 in June from 53.2 in May.

South Korea's manufacturing activity contracted for a fourth consecutive month in June and fell to a three-year low, a private survey showed Wednesday. The Nikkei Purchasing Managers' Index came in at a seasonally adjusted 46.1 in June, lower than May's reading of 47.8. The latest reading was the weakest since September 2012. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in manufacturing activity, while a reading below that signals contraction.

US stocks ended a choppy trading session higher yesterday, 30 June 2015. News from Greece dominated the trading day.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

Also Read

First Published: Jul 01 2015 | 1:06 PM IST

Next Story