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Sensex, Nifty attain highest closing level in almost two weeks

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Last Updated : Aug 06 2015 | 12:01 AM IST

Taking their cues from gains in Asian and European stocks, key equity benchmark indices in India edged higher. IT stocks led the upmove for the benchmark indices. However, benchmark indices came off the day's high. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, hovered in green throughout the trading session. The Sensex and the Nifty, both, attained their highest closing level in almost two weeks. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 151.15 points or 0.54% to settle at 28,223.08. In overseas markets, Asian and European stocks edged higher after the outcome of a monthly survey showed that China's services sector showed continued strength in July.

Realty stocks edged higher on renewed buying. Bank stocks witnessed a mixed trend. Metal shares edged higher following an increase in Chinese services sector activity in July to an 11-month high.

Meanwhile, Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn said yesterday, 4 August 2015, that the company is considering setting up manufacturing facilities in India.

Meanwhile, the outcome of a monthly survey released today, 5 August 2015, showed that India's services sector activity rose last month, primarily in response to a renewed increase in new business.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 335.11 crore from the secondary equity market yesterday, 4 August 2015, as per data from National Securities Depository (NSDL). Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 112.55 crore yesterday, 4 August 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges

In overseas markets, European stocks edged higher, tracking gains in Asia, on the back of some robust data on China's services sector. Asian stocks edged higher after the outcome of a monthly survey showed that China's services sector showed continued strength in July. US stocks edged lower yesterday, 4 August 2015, after Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said the economy is ripe for a rise in short-term interest rates.

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The S&P BSE Sensex rose 151.15 points or 0.54% to settle at 28,223.08, its highest closing level since 23 July 2015. The index jumped 243.78 points at the day's high of 28,315.71 in mid-afternoon trade. The index rose 63.75 points at the day's low of 28,135.68 at the onset of the trading session.

The CNX Nifty rose 51.05 points or 0.6% to settle at 8,567.95, its highest closing level since 23 July 2015. The index hit a high of 8,591.85 in intraday trade. The index hit a low of 8,545.85 in intraday trade.

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong on BSE. 1,803 shares gained and 1,152 shares fell. A total of 108 shares were unchanged.

The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 87.23 points or 0.76% to settle at 11,544.46. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 114.87 points or 0.96% to settle at 12,136.01. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4479 crore, higher than turnover of Rs 4468.92 crore registered during the previous trading session.

Among the sectoral indices on BSE, the S&P BSE Realty index (up 3.31%), the S&P BSE IT index (up 1.78%), the S&P BSE Healthcare index (up 1.55%), the S&P BSE Teck index (up 1.53%), the S&P BSE FMCG index (up 1.41%), the S&P BSE Auto index (up 1.03%), the S&P BSE Power index (up 0.85%) and the S&P BSE Capital Goods index (up 0.54%), outperformed the Sensex. The S&P BSE Oil & Gas index (up 0.16%), the S&P BSE Consumer Durables index (down 0.03%), the S&P BSE Metal index (down 0.04%) and the S&P BSE Bankex (down 0.33%) underperformed the Sensex.

Metal shares edged higher following an increase in Chinese services sector activity in July to an 11-month high. China is the world's largest consumer of steel, copper and aluminum. National Aluminum Company (up 3.89%), Tata Steel (up 2.28%), Steel Authority of India (up 2.12%), Bhushan Steel (up 1.09%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.03%), JSW Steel (up 0.60%), Vedanta (up 0.31%) and NMDC (up 0.05%), edged higher. Hindustan Zinc (down 0.28%), Hindustan Copper (down 0.61%) and Hindalco Industries (down 0.91%) edged lower.

Realty stocks edged higher on renewed buying. DLF (up 5.95%), D B Realty (up 4.83%), Unitech (up 4.81%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 4.65%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL) (up 4.31%), Parsvnath Developers (up 2.41%), Anant Raj (up 1.69%), Phoenix Mills (up 1.28%), Godrej Properties (up 0.98%), Sobha (up 0.65%) and Oberoi Realty (up 0.14%), edged higher. Prestige Estates Projects (down 0.47%), Peninsula Land (down 1.96%) and Sunteck Realty (down 2.76%), edged lower.

IT stocks were in demand on renewed buying. Wipro (up 2.94%), Infosys (up 2.52%), CMC (up 1.65%), Tech Mahindra (up 1.44%), MindTree (up 1.29%), TCS (up 1.29%), Persistent Systems (up 1.11%) and HCL Technologies (up 0.37%), edged higher. Oracle Financial Services Software (down 0.61%), MphasiS (down 1.64%) and Hexaware Technologies (down 2.44%), edged lower.

Nasdaq listed information technology, consulting and business process outsourcing services provider Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation today, 5 August 2015, raised its full year earnings per share (EPS) and revenue guidance after announcing its Q2 June 2015 earnings. Cognizant's GAAP net income rose 12.96% to $420.1 million on 22.6% increase in revenue to $3.09 billion in Q2 June 2015 over Q2 June 2014. GAAP diluted EPS stood at $0.68 in Q2 June 2015, up from $0.61 in Q2 June 2014. Non-GAAP diluted EPS stood at $0.79 in Q2 June 2015, up from $0.66 in Q2 June 2014.

The company expects revenue to be at least $3.14 billion in Q3 September 2015. The non-GAAP diluted EPS is expected to be at least $0.75 in Q3. For the year ended 31 December 2015, the company expects revenue to be at least $12.33 billion, which is a growth of at least 20.1% over the year ended 31 December 2014. Non-GAAP diluted EPS is expected to be at least $3 for year ended 31 December 2015.

Siemens was up 1.27% at Rs 1,495.55. The company's 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. Siemens' order intake declined 18.23% to Rs 2234.08 crore in Q3 June 2015 over Q3 June 2014. The result was announced after market hours today, 5 August 2015.

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.

PSU banks were mixed. Canara Bank (down 1.89%), Bank of India (down 1.42%), Bank of Baroda (down 1.15%), State Bank of India (down 0.99%), Dena Bank (down 0.88%), Vijaya Bank (down 0.61%), IDBI Bank (down 0.59%), Andhra Bank (down 0.39%), Allahabad Bank (down 0.37%), UCO Bank (down 0.27%) and United Bank of India (down 0.2%), edged lower. Punjab National Bank (up 0.03%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 0.13%), Indian Bank (up 0.59%), Punjab and Sind Bank (up 0.81%), Central Bank of India (up 0.90%), Corporation Bank (up 1.03%), Union Bank of India (up 1.46%) and Syndicate Bank (up 1.91%), edged higher.

Shares of private sector banks also witnessed a mixed trend. Federal Bank (up 1.33%), City Union Bank (up 0.40%), HDFC Bank (up 0.35%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 0.10%) and IndusInd Bank (up 0.02%), edged higher. Axis Bank (down 0.13%), ICICI Bank (down 0.96%) and Yes Bank (down 1.1%) edged lower.

The Sensex has risen 108.52 points or 0.39% in this month so far (till 5 August 2015). The Sensex has risen 723.66 points or 2.63% in this calendar year so far (till 5 August 2015). From a 52-week low of 25,232.82 on 8 August 2014, the Sensex has risen 2,990.26 points or 11.85%. The Sensex is off 1,801.66 points or 6% from a record high of 30,024.74 hit on 4 March 2015.

Meanwhile, Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn said yesterday, 4 August 2015, that the company is considering setting up manufacturing facilities in India. Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou reportedly said at a news conference in New Delhi yesterday, 4 August 2015, that Foxconn intends to set up manufacturing facilities for producing televisions, routers, switches, storage equipment and batteries among other devices in India. Foxconn is the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer by revenue.

Meanwhile, the outcome of a monthly survey released today, 5 August 2015, showed that India's services sector activity rose last month, primarily in response to a renewed increase in new business. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei Services Business Activity Index rose back above the 50 no-change mark in July, posting 50.8 from 47.7 in June. Although growing for the first time in three months, the expansion in new business was slight. The upturn in incoming new work led Indian service providers to take on additional workers in July. Although slight, the rate of job creation was the quickest in two years. While contrasting with continued marginal job shedding in the manufacturing sector, the rise in services employment was enough to result in higher staffing levels overall. Rates charged by service providers to their users rose for the 8th month in a row in July. Nonetheless, the latest increase was only marginal. Anecdotal evidence suggests that strong competitive pressures had weighed on service providers' pricing power. Confidence among Indian services firms deteriorated in July. Although companies remained optimistic on average, the level of positive sentiment dipped to a survey low.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan indicated in his written monetary policy statement yesterday, 4 August 2015, that monetary policy could be eased further if there is greater monetary policy transmission by way of cut in base rate by commercial banks. The RBI kept its benchmark lending rate viz. the repo rate unchanged at 7.25% after a monetary policy yesterday, 4 August 2015, while retaining the accommodative stance of monetary policy.

Meanwhile, India's weather office, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a daily report issued yesterday, 4 August 2015, that the Southwest Monsoon was active over Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Chhattisgarh during past 24 hours until 8:30 IST. For the country as a whole, cumulative rainfall during this year's monsoon season was 7% below the Long Period Average (LPA) until 4 August 2015. Region wise, the rainfall was 21% below the LPA in South Peninsula, 8% below the LPA in East & Northeast India, 6% below the LPA in Central India and 6% above the LPA in Northwest India until 4 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, European stocks edged higher today, 5 August 2015, tracking gains in Asia, on the back of some robust data on China's services sector. Key benchmark indices in UK, France and Germany were up by 0.37% to 1.29%.

In Greece, the Athex Composite was off 3.67%. Both Greece and its lenders reportedly said yesterday, 4 August 2015, that they were optimistic they could broker a deal within days on a multi-billion euro bailout. A bailout worth up to 86 billion euros ($94.5 billion) must be settled by 20 August 2015 -- or a second bridge loan agreed -- if Greece is to pay off debt of 3.5 billion euros to the European Central Bank (ECB) that matures on that day, reports suggested.

Asian stocks edged higher today, 5 August 2015, after the outcome of a monthly survey showed that China's services sector showed continued strength in July. Key benchmark indices in Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Indonesia were up 0.01% to 1.45%.

In mainland China, the China's Shanghai Composite lost 1.65%. The tepid performance of the mainland market follows Chinese authorities' moves to clamp down on short selling early this week.

Activity in China's services sector expanded at its fastest pace in 11 months in July, thanks to stronger new business, a private survey showed today, 5 August 2015. The services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) compiled by Caixin/Markit rose to 53.8 in July from June's 51.8. The July level is the highest since August 2014 and marks a 12th straight month of expansion. A reading above 50 points indicates growth on a monthly basis, while one below that points to a contraction. A government measure of services and construction, known as the official nonmanufacturing PMI, was also strong in July, rising to 53.9 from 53.8 in June, according to government data released on 1 August 2015.

US stocks edged lower yesterday, 4 August 2015, after Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said the economy is ripe for a rise in short-term interest rates.

The influential monthly US nonfarm payroll report for July 2015 is due on Friday, 7 August 2015. The report will be scrutinized for clues to the strength of the labor-market recovery. The ADP employment report, considered a precursor to the nonfarm data, is due later in the global day today, 5 August 2015. Investors have been parsing economic data, from inflation to wages, for clues about when the Fed might raise rates.

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First Published: Aug 05 2015 | 4:32 PM IST

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