The 50-unit CNX Nifty regained positive terrain after slipping into the red for a brief period in early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the Nifty was up 2.85 points or 0.04%. Trading on BSE remained suspended. Trading has been halted on BSE since early morning trade due to network outage.
Pharma stocks edged higher. GMR Infrastructure slumped after the company launched a share sale to institutional investors. United Spirits rose after Diageo plc said it has acquired an additional 26% stake in United Spirits through tender offer.
At 12:20 IST, the CNX Nifty was up 2.85 points or 0.04% to 7,728. The index hit a high of 7,754.65 in intraday trade, which is a lifetime high for the index. The index hit a low of 7,708.65 in intraday trade.
The CNX Mid-Cap index was up 0.43%. The CNX Small-Cap index was up 0.12%. Both these indices outperformed Nifty.
Pharma stocks edged higher. Cipla (up 0.29% to 445.60), Lupin (up 0.63% to Rs 1,080.95), Ranbaxy Laboratories (up 2.36% to Rs 535.55), and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 2.18% to Rs 708.50) gained. Dr Reddy's Laboratories shed 0.49% to Rs 2,649.75.
United Spirits (USL) rose 1.47% to Rs 2,520.50 after Diageo plc said it has acquired an additional 26% stake in USL through tender offer. Diageo on Wednesday, 2 July 2014, that the company through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Relay B.V., has accepted the tender of 3.77 crore shares in USL, representing 26% stake in USL at a price of Rs 3,030 per share under the tender offer announced on 15 April 2014. The aggregate consideration for these shares is Rs 11448.91 crore. Diageo's prior interest in USL was 28.78%, acquired for Rs 6574.21 crore. Diageo, therefore, will have a total interest of 54.78% in USL acquired for a total consideration of Rs 18023.13 crore.
GMR Infrastructure slumped 5.7% to Rs 31.80 after the company after trading hours on Wednesday, 2 July 2014, said it has launched a share sale to qualified institutional buyers. GMR Infrastructure has set a floor price of Rs 33.14 per share for the issue. The company also said that its board of directors will consider offering a discount of up to 5% to the floor price to the successful bidders.
GMR also said that the board of directors of the company has approved a proposal to issue and allot upto 18 crore warrants entitling to 18 crore equity shares of Re 1 each under preferential allotment to promoter group entities. The price of the warrants will not be less than the price under qualified institutional placement (QIP)
The proceeds of the QIP offering and the preferential allotment will be used primarily for the purpose of strengthening the company's financial position and net worth by way of, inter alia, repayment of borrowings, capital expenditure, working capital and general corporate purposes and meeting exigencies or any other purposes as approved by the board, the company said.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower in choppy trade against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 59.7275, compared with its close of 59.6875/6975 on Wednesday, 2 July 2014.
The market edged higher in early trade as crude oil prices dropped. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, hit lifetime high. Trading on BSE was halted in early morning trade due to technical snag. On NSE, the 50-unit CNX Nifty regained positive terrain after slipping into the negative terrain from positive terrain in morning trade. The Nifty moved in a narrow range in positive zone in mid-morning trade. The Nifty regained positive terrain after slipping into the red for a bried period in early afternoon trade.
Concerns about India's macroeconomic situation have eased as crude prices have come off 9-month high which it hit last month. Brent crude oil futures for August delivery were down 22 cents at $111.02 a barrel. Brent crude fell $1.05 a barrel, or 0.9%, to settle at $111.24 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange on Wednesday, 2 July 2014, the lowest settlement price since 11 June 2014. The latest decline in crude oil prices came following reports that the Libyan government had reached an agreement with rebels to reopen two oil ports in the country, which could allow higher crude exports from Libya.
Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday, 3 July 2014, before US jobs reports and a euro-area monetary-policy decision. Key benchmark indices in South Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Japan were off 0.13% to 0.26%. Key benchmark indices in China, Singapore and Taiwan were up 0.16% to 0.46%.
The HSBC China services Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 53.1 in June from 50.7 in May. The June reading is the highest since March 2013
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 5 points at the opening bell on Thursday, 3 July 2014. Most US stocks gained on Wednesday, 2 July 2014, on a positive read on private sector employment and ahead of the highly anticipated June payrolls report.
Employment at companies climbed in June by the most since November 2012, a sign the US job market is strengthening along with demand, a private payrolls report showed on Wednesday. The 281,000 surge exceeded the most optimistic forecast and followed a 179,000 increase in May, data from the ADP Research Institute in Roseland, New Jersey, showed.
The European Central Bank meets today, 3 July 2014, to make a policy decision after enacting unprecedented stimulus last month.
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