A range bound movement was witnessed as key benchmark alternately swung between positive and negative zone near the flat line in mid-morning trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was currently off 8.05 points or 0.03% at 28,215.03. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. 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.
Cement stocks gained on renewed buying. Realty stocks also edged higher.
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 11:18 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 8.05 points or 0.03% at 28,215.03. The index gained 91.32 points at the day's high of 28,314.40 in early trade. The index fell 43.05 points at the day's low of 28,180.03 in morning trade.
The 50-unit CNX Nifty was off 0.35 points at 8,567.60. The index hit a high of 8,590.50 in intraday trade. The index hit a low of 8,552.35 in intraday trade.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. On BSE, 1,292 shares gained and 1,183 shares fell. A total of 102 shares were unchanged.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.35 points at 11,544.81. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 27.84 points or 0.23% at 12,163.85. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 1396 crore by 11:15 IST compared with turnover of Rs 903 crore by 10:15 IST.
Cement stocks gained on renewed buying. Ambuja Cements (up 1.01%), ACC (up 1.82%), UltraTech Cement (up 0.95%) and Shree Cement (up 0.38%) gained.
Grasim Industries was up 0.55% at Rs 3,776.05. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
Realty stocks also edged higher. DLF (up 1.89%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 1.03%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (up 2.12%), Unitech (up 2.01%), Sobha (up 2.68%), Godrej Properties (up 1.88%) and Parsvnath Developers (up 3.39%) gained. Oberoi Realty shed 0.89%.
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. Central provident fund commissioner K.K. Jalan was quoted as saying yesterday, 5 August 2015, that to begin with, EPFO will invest in two ETFs, one built around the Nifty and another built around the Sensex. Going forward, it may diversify its basket of ETFs, Jalan said.
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 Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea fell by 0.07% to 1.27%. Key benchmark indices in China and Japan rose 0.35% to 0.69%.
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 Gov. 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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