A divergent trend was witnessed among various index constituents with key benchmark indices hovering near the flat line in afternoon trade. At 13:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 0.82 points at 25,270.46. The Nifty 50 index was currently up 10.15 points or 0.13% at 7,723.20. The Sensex fell 46.15 points or 0.18% at the day's low of 25,223.49 in afternoon trade. The barometer index rose 149.55 points or 0.59% at the day's high of 25,419.19 at the onset of the trading session, its highest level since 31 March 2016. The Nifty fell 8.65 points or 0.11% at the day's low of 7704.4 in afternoon trade. The index rose 44.55 points or 0.57% at the day's high of 7,757.60 at the onset of the trading session, its highest level since 31 March 2016.
In overseas stock markets, European markets were trading lower as a decline in oil prices weighed on investor sentiment. Most Asian stocks edged higher after US monthly job data reinforced market expectations that the US Federal Reserve will adopt a slower path for interest-rate increases. US stocks registered modest gains during the previous trading session on Friday, 1 April 2016, as investors bet that a spate of strong economic data, including the March jobs report, won't speed up the pace of interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve. In a speech in New York on 29 March 2016, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen stressed a need for a cautious stance on interest-rate increases in the backdrop of global economic slowdown.
Closer home, the market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. On BSE, 1,384 shares rose and 996 shares fell. A total of 134 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.08%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.24%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
Fertilizer stocks edged higher. Gujarat State Fertilizers Company (up 5.51%), Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (up 3.05%), Zuari Global (up 2.79%), Coromandel International (up 1.91%), Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals (up 1.81%), National Fertilizers (up 1.19%), Fertilisers & Chemicals Travancore (up 0.92%) and Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corporation (up 0.10%), edged higher. Tata Chemicals was down 0.73%.
Yes Bank was up 0.74% at Rs 862 after the private sector bank said that it raised Rs 545 crore of Basel III compliant Tier II bonds on private placement basis. The Bonds will be listed on the BSE. The announcement was made during market hours today, 4 April 2016.
Separately, Yes Bank announced lending rates based on marginal cost of funds effective from 1 April 2016. Yes Bank's Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) for overnight loans will be 9%, for one month will be 9.1% and for three months will be 9.25%. The MCLR on 6-month loans will be 9.4% and for one-year loans the rate would be 9.6%, the bank said.
Capital goods shares were mixed. ALSTOM India (up 1.99%), ABB India (up 1.48%), Praj Industries (up 1.30%), Lakshmi Machine Works (up 1.23%), Thermax (up 1.10%), Bharat Electronics (up 0.94%), Alstom T&D India (up 0.92%), Havells India (up 0.89%), Jindal Saw (up 0.60%) and SKF India (up 0.41%), edged higher. Crompton Greaves (down 0.1%), Suzlon Energy (down 0.21%), Siemens (down 0.26%), Punj Lloyd (down 0.51%), BEML (down 0.64%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (down 0.86%), Reliance Defence and Engineering (down 1.15%) and AIA Engineering (down 1.2%), edged lower.
Index heavyweight and engineering & construction major L&T was down 0.75% to Rs 1,229. The stock hit a high of Rs 1,249.85 and a low of Rs 1,223.50 so far during the day.
On the macro front, the finance ministry after trading hours on Friday, 1 April 2016, announced that as per initial estimates, the fiscal deficit for 2015-16 is expected to be within the target of 3.9% of GDP. It further said that the government remains committed to the path of fiscal consolidation. The government's Plan Expenditure for 2015-16 is expected to be around Rs 4.70 lakh crore, which will be higher than the budget estimate and also higher than the actual plan expenditure in 2014-15.
Meanwhile, the outcome of a monthly survey showed that the growth in India's manufacturing accelerated last month. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) hit eight-month high of 52.4 in March 2016. The index rose from 51.1 in February 2016. Despite gathering momentum, growth of production and new orders still remained below trend rates. The latest monthly survey showed that inflationary pressures in India's manufacturing are on the upside, with cost burdens rising at the quickest pace in three months in March and output charge inflation reaching a 16-month high in the month just gone by. The build-up in inflationary pressures may lead the Reserve Bank of India to hold off from cutting rates, especially as solid growth was seen in March, said Pollyanna De Lima, Economist at Markit.
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