Key benchmark indices registered modest losses on first trading day of the week. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 51.74 points or 0.16% at 32,273.67, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty index fell 16.10 points or 0.16% at 10,050.30, as per the provisional closing data. Domestic stocks gyrated in a small range in a lackluster session of trade.
Trading for the week kicked-off on a positive note as domestic stocks drifted higher in early trade in sync with Asian stocks. Volatility hit bourses in morning trade as indices regained positive zone soon after erasing early gains to hit intraday low in negative zone. Stocks extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. Indices hovered near the flat line after paring gains in early afternoon trade. Key benchmark indices traded near the flat line in afternoon and mid-afternoon trade. Stocks drifted lower in late trade.
The Sensex gained 70.73 points or 0.22% at the day's high of 32,396.14 in mid-morning trade, its highest level since 3 August 2017. The index fell 89.59 points or 0.28% at the day's low of 32,235.82 in late trade. The Nifty gained 21.70 points or 0.22% at the day's high of 10,088.10 in mid-morning trade, its highest level since 3 August 2017. The index fell 20.05 points or 0.2% at the day's low of 10,046.35 in late trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index provisionally rose 1.06%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index provisionally rose 1.15%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,557 shares rose and 1,065 shares fell. A total of 178 shares were unchanged.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 3851.89 crore, higher than the turnover of Rs 3835.69 crore registered during the previous trading session on Friday, 4 August 2017.
Tata Steel rose 4.26% to Rs 600 ahead of the company's Q1 June 2017 results scheduled today, 7 August 2017. A domestic brokerage expects Tata Steel to report turnaround in bottom line in Q1 June 2017 on a consolidated basis, compared with year ago quarter. Another domestic brokerage expects Tata Steel numbers in Q1 June 2017 to be sequentially weaker due to lower steel prices and higher coking coal costs.
IT stocks saw mixed trend. TCS (down 0.82%), Infosys (down 1.81%), HCL Technologies (down 0.67%), Tech Mahindra (down 1.03%) fell. MphasiS (up 0.19%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.01%), MindTree (up 2.84%) and Hexaware Technologies (up 0.79%) rose.
Wipro fell 0.26%. Wipro announced the availability of Data Discovery Platform, its big data analytics-as-a-service solution on Microsoft Azure. The solution accelerates insight-driven decision making through pre-built applications for specific industries, such as banking and financial services, retail, energy, education and manufacturing. The announcement was made before market hours today, 7 August 2017.
Britannia Industries surged 5.02%. The company's consolidated net profit fell 1.41% to Rs 216.12 crore on 5.63% increase in net sales to Rs 2224.82 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016. The result was announced during trading hours today, 7 August 2017.
Commenting on the performance, Varun Berry, managing director, Britannia Industries, said that it was a good quarter in the face of challenging market environment and de-stocking in trade due to goods and services tax (GST). Growth in the international business continued to be under pressure due to deteriorating geopolitical situation and currency fluctuations in geographies like Middle East and Africa. Growth in dairy business has also been subdued primarily due to our focus on driving products with high profitability and reducing the company's play in the less profitable commoditized products.
On the commodity front, prices of key raw material continue to remain high with inflation in Q1 standing at around 6%. Meanwhile, the company's accelerated cost efficiency program and endeavour to leverage fixed costs have helped the firm improve its profitability on a sequential basis, he added.
Whirlpool of India rose 3.85% after net profit rose 8.83% to Rs 132.72 crore on 15.07% increase in total income to Rs 1639.54 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016. The result was announced during market hours today, 7 August 2017.
Overseas, European stocks were trading higher and Asian markets gained after strong US hiring data bolstered optimism about economic growth in the world's largest economy. Industrial output in Europe's largest economy, Germany surprisingly fell at the end of the second quarter, data from the country's Economics Ministry showed. In adjusted terms, output declined by 1.1% in June, marking the index's first monthly decline since last December.
US stocks closed higher on Friday, 4 August 2017 with the Dow ending at a record for an eighth straight session following a read on the labor market that came in above expectations, a sign that current valuations may be supported by current economic activity.
On the economic front in US, the July payrolls report showed the US created 209,000 new jobs in July. The government raised its estimate of new jobs created in June to 231,000 from 222,000. Separately, the unemployment rate moved to 4.3% from 4.4%, retouching a 16-year low. The data is seen as crucial for the Federal Reserve as it decides whether to raise interest rates one more time this year.
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