Key benchmark indices swung between gains and losses in a small range around the flat line in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 8.35 points or 0.03% at 31,654.81. The Nifty 50 index gained 0.55 points or 0.01% at 9,884.95. Investors maintained caution ahead of announcement of Q1 June 2017 gross domestic product data later during the day. Volatility was witnessed due to expiry of near month futures & options contracts today, 31 August 2017.
After opening with small gains, indices soon slipped into the red and traded with small losses till mid-morning trade. Indices recovered and turned positive in early afternoon trade. Stocks swung between gains and losses in the vicinity of flat line later during the trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.01%, underperforming the Sensex. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.5%, outperforming the Sensex.
The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,377 shares rose and 1,070 shares fell. A total of 138 shares were unchanged.
Shares of power generation and power distribution companies were mixed. Torrent Power (up 0.02 %), Tata Power Company (up 0.64%), Adani Power (up 2.48%), Power Grid Corporation of India (up 1.14%), and Reliance Power (up 0.6%) gained. NHPC (up 0.79%), Reliance Infrastructure (down 0.48%) and Suzlon Energy (down 0.3%) declined.
NTPC fell 0.06% to Rs 167.90 after dull response from retail investors in the company's two-day offer for sale. The government received bids for about 7% stake in NTPC, which will fetch over Rs 9000 crore to the exchequer. At the end of the two-day offer for sale (OFS) yesterday, 30 August 2017, the government retained oversubscription it had received from institutional investors after retail investors bid for only 73% of the quota allocated for them.
The government had planned to sell over 41.22 crore shares, or 5% holding, through the two-day OFS, with an option to retain a similar portion in case of oversubscription. On the opening day on Tuesday, 29 August 2017, institutional (non-retail) investors bid for 46.35 crore shares against 32.98 crore shares offered to them, according to stock exchange data.
Yesterday, 30 August 2017, retail investors bid for 8.45 crore shares against 11.58 crore shares on offer. The government decided to retain oversubscription, and after adjustments a total of about 7% stake was sold in the OFS. The shares were offered at a floor price of Rs 168 each.
Shares of Coal India dropped 1.45%.
Pharma stocks declined. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 1.35%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 0.57%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 0.49%), Cadila Healthcare (down 0.78%), Divi's Laboratories (down 0.24%), and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.82%) declined. Cipla rose 0.13%.
Lupin rose 0.63% after the company announced the launch of generic Fosrenol Chewable tablets in the US. The announcement was made during market hours today, 31 August 2017. Lupin announced the launch of Lanthanum Carbonate Chewable Tablets 500 mg (base), 750 mg (base), and 1000 mg (base). Lupin's alliance partner Natco had received an approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) earlier. Lanthanum Carbonate Chewable Tablets are indicated to reduce serum phosphate in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD).
Lanthanum Carbonate Chewable Tablets 500 mg (base), 750 mg (base), and 1000 mg (base) are generic equivalents of Shire Development LLC's Fosrenol Chewable Tablets. Fosrenol Chewable Tablets has US sales of $122.4 million (IMS MAT June 2017).
Future Consumer rose 1.1% to Rs 50.40 after two bulk deals were executed on the scrip on BSE today, 31 August 2017. A bulk deal of 9.83 lakh shares was executed on the scrip at Rs 49.50 per share at 10:13 IST on BSE. Another bulk deal of 10 lakh shares was executed on the scrip at Rs 50.75 per share at 12:29 IST on BSE.
On the macro front, the government will announce data on Q1 June 2017 gross domestic product (GDP) after market hours today, 31 August 2017. India's GDP rose at moderated pace of 6.1% in Q4 March 2017, which is the lowest pace of growth in last nine quarters. The GDP growth decelerated sharply from 7% growth recorded in the preceding last quarter and 8.7% surge posted in the corresponding quarter last year.
Overseas, European stocks edged higher as investors look to upcoming data and news coming out of the political sphere. Sentiment was positive following a positive close on Wall Street overnight, and a mixed session from Asia.
Asian stocks were mixed amid volatility. An official gauge of China's factory activity rose in August, government data showed. China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index rebounded to 51.7 from July's 51.4. The index has now stayed above the 50 mark, which separates an expansion of activity from a contraction, for 13 months.
China's official non-manufacturing purchasing-managers' index, a measure of activity outside the nation's factory gates, fell for a second straight month to 53.4 in August from 54.5 in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
Japan's industrial output fell more than expected in July. Industrial output fell 0.8% in July from the previous month, dragged down by production of semiconductor production equipment, turbines and power generators, preliminary data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed.
US stocks climbed yesterday, 30 August 2017, after the Commerce Department said the economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter. President Donald Trump also made a speech calling on Congress to act to advance tax reform, a proposal favoured by many businesses. The Commerce Department said the US economy grew at a 3% annual rate over the three months to the end of June, up from an earlier 2.6% estimate. The revision means that growth for the quarter was at the fastest rate since the first quarter of 2015.
Private-sector hiring skyrocketed in August, according to data released. Employers added a seasonally adjusted 237,000 jobs during the month, payroll processor ADP said. That was a big gain from the 178,000 jobs ADP reported in July, and which it revised up to 201,000.
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