A bout of volatility was witnessed as key barometers bounced back after hitting fresh intraday low in mid-morning trade. At 11:19 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 29.99 points or 0.08% at 37,366.84. The Nifty 50 index was up 5.65 points or 0.05% at 11,284.
The market opened higher and hit fresh intraday high in early trade. Indices sharply pared gains and were trading near flat line in morning trade. Indices bounced back after hitting fresh intraday low in mid-morning trade. The Sensex rose 159.95 points, or 0.43% at the day's high of 37,496.80 in early trade. The index fell 27.58 points, or 0.07% at the day's low of 37,309.27 in morning trade.The Nifty rose 31 points, or 0.27% at the day's high of 11,309.35 in early trade. The index fell 13.25 points, or 0.12% at the day's low of 11,265.10 in morning trade.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.06%, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.36%, outperforming the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1347 shares rose and 871 shares fell. A total of 130 shares were unchanged.
NTPC rose 0.42% after the company declared its Q1 result on Saturday, 27 July 2018. NTPC reported 1.15% fall in net profit to Rs 2588.14 crore on 11% rise in total income to Rs 23000.09 crore in Q1 June 2018 over Q1 June 2017. The company's board of directors considered and approved the issue of secured/ unsecured, redeemable, taxable/ tax-free, cumulative/ non-cumulative, non-convertible debentures ('Bonds/NCDs') upto Rs 12000 crore during the period commencing from the date of passing of Special Resolution in the ensuing Annual General Meeting till completion of one year thereof or the date of next Annual General Meeting in the financial year 2019-20 whichever is earlier. NTPC is India's largest energy conglomerate with presence in the entire value chain of the power generation business.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries rose 0.48% after consolidated net profit rose 4.47% to Rs 9485 crore on 50.58% rise in total income to Rs 130544 crore in Q1 June 2018 over Q1 June 2017. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 27 July 2018.
Exports (including deemed exports) from RIL's India operations were higher by 41.5% at Rs 52501 crore ($ 7.7 billion) as against Rs 37111 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year due to higher volumes and product prices in petrochemical business and higher realization in refining business. Operating profit before other income and depreciation increased by 64.6% to Rs 20661 crore ($3 billion) from Rs 12554 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Record operating performance was led by 33% volume growth and significant margin improvement in petrochemicals business. Exponential growth in Retail and Digital Services businesses also contributed significantly to higher operating profits. The capital expenditure for the quarter ended 30 June 2018 was Rs 33267 crore ($ 4.9 billion) including exchange rate difference.
Commenting on the results, Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited said financial results of Q1 June 2018 underscore the strength of the petrochemicals reinforced over the last investment cycle. Petrochemicals business generated record EBITDA with strong volumes and an upswing in polyester chain margins. Refining business performance remained steady despite the seasonal weakness in cracks. Continuing strength in global demand for oil products and implementation of more stringent environmental norms for marine fuels augurs well for refining business.
Most IT shares declined. MindTree (down 1.89%), Wipro (down 1.55%), Infosys (down 1.17%), MphasiS (down 0.96%), Oracle Financial Services Software (down 0.48%), Hexaware Technologies (down 0.24%) and TCS (down 0.23%), edged lower. Persistent Systems (up 0.48%) and Tech Mahindra (up 0.67%), edged higher.
HCL Technologies was down 1.03%. On a consolidated basis, HCL Technologies reported 9.01% rise in net profit to Rs 2431 crore on 5.36% rise in total income to Rs 14,203 crore in Q1 June 2018 over Q4 March 2018. The result was announced after market hours on Friday, 27 July 2018.
Most pharmaceutical shares declined. Wockhardt (up 2.83%), Divi's Laboratories (up 2.52%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 2.20%), Lupin (up 1.69%), Strides Shasun (up 1.65%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 1.45%), Cadila Healthcare (up 1.41%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.66%) and IPCA Laboratories (up 0.59%), edged higher. Piramal Enterprises (down 0.03%), Cipla (down 0.21%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 0.35%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.46%) and Alkem Laboratories (down 0.88%), edged lower.
Overseas, Asian stocks declined as markets took cues from declines in Wall Street's last session, with focus this week shifting to the Bank of Japan.
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) will declare its interest rate decision on Tuesday, 31 July 2018. BoJ left its key short-term interest rate unchanged at -0.1% at its June 2018 meeting.
US stocks closed lower Friday, 27 July 2018, following disappointing results from Twitter Inc. and bellwethers, including Exxon and Intel.
US second-quarter GDP grew at 4.1%, with a jump in consumer spending and business investment contributing to the figure. That was the quickest pace of growth since 2014. Separately, consumer sentiment fell to a six-month low in July, the University of Michigan said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee will embark on its two-day meeting on Tuesday, with the central bank expected to announce its decision during Wednesday, 1 August 2018, US hours.
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