Markets near three-month highs; HDFC, HDFC Bank up 1.2%

Financial shares continued to lead gains on rate-cut hopes

Benchmark share indices were trading near their three-month highs, amid firm global cues, with financials leading the gains on hopes of a rate-cut by the central bank while oil shares firmed up on softening global crude oil prices.

At 1:15PM, the 30-share Sensex was up 172 points at 28,371 and 50-share Nifty was up 61 points at 8,585.

The broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices outperformed the benchmark indices with up by 0.7% and 1% each. Market breadth continued to remain robust as advances outpaced losers 1,476:1,062 on the BSE.

ECONOMY

India’s trade deficit narrowed to 10.8 billion in June as compared to 11.7 billion in same month previous year. However, country’s exports contracted for the seventh straight month by 15.82 percent to $22.2 billion on account of slump in global demand.

COMMODITY

Crude oil prices gained after data showed that US crude inventories dropped and refinery demand was high, although the outlook remains for cheap oil as oversupply persists.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian markets ended higher amid a rebound in Chinese shares after the sharp fall in the previous session. China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.5% while Hang Seng ended up 0.4%. Shares in Japan also ended 0.7% higher while Straits Times gained 0.5%.

European shares opened higher after Greece's parliament has approved the bailout package presented by prime minister Alexis Tsipras. CAC-40 and DAX were up nearly 1% each while FTSE-100 was up 0.4%.

SECTORS & STOCKS

All sectoral indices were trading in the green with BSE Bankex emerging as the top gainer up 1.5% followed by Oil and Gas index among others. Further, the Bank Nifty topped the 19,000 mark.

In the financial pack, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, SBI and ICICI Bank were up 0.7-3.5% each.

SBI, Axis Bank and Yes Bank will launch mobile wallets to take on pre-paid issuers like Paytm and MobiKwik.

Reliance Industries was up 1.2% as it has entered the 2.7 million tonnes Indian Railways bulk diesel market, challenging state-owned refiners and marketers after a hiatus of nearly eight years.

Tata Steel was up nearly 1% amid media reports that the pension dispute at their UK business that brought the company to the brink of the biggest industrial dispute in 35 years ended.

Maruti Suzuki extended gains and was up 0.7% after foreign brokerage Credit Suisse has increased its target price on Maruti Suzuki to Rs 5100, maintaining its outperforming rating on the stock.

Pharma shares were also trading higher with Sun Pharma, Cipla and Dr Reddy's Labs up 0.6-1.1% each.

Among other shares, Shares of Eicher Motors were up over 1% at Rs 20,961 following a PTI report that the company's two-wheeler division Royal Enfield sold its entire inventory of 200 units of limited edition motorcycles within 26 minutes of opening of online booking.

Shares of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone were trading higher by nearly 3% to Rs 328, at day’s high level on the BSE, after the company said it has received Kerala government’s nod for developing the Rs 4,089-crore Vizhinjam International Deepwater Seaport project.