Sensex, Nifty hit fresh record highs on first day of June series

The benchmark indices touched their respective record highs on the first day of the June series thanks to gains in metals and consumer goods stocks even as the Asian markets traded subdued. 

The S&P BSE Sensex rallied as much as 183 points to hit its new high of 30,933, while the broader Nifty50 gained 52 points to touch its fresh high of 9,562. 

At 11:11 am, the 30-share Sensex was trading at 30,925, up 175 points, while the Nifty50 was ruling at 9,559, up 50 points. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices gained over 1% each.

"Due to yesterday’s spectacular move, our first level of 9,500 has been reached and now a move towards 9,600 is just a matter of time. Traders are advised to stay on the positive side and use any intraday decline towards 9,480-9,450 to create long positions in the market," said brokerage Angel Broking in a technical note.   

Buzzing stocks

Asian Paints, Hindalco and Tata Steel were the top gainers on Nifty and added up to 2%. Nifty Metals and Nifty FMCG were the leading sectoral indices which gained 1% each. 

Cipla was the top loser and shed over 3% after the pharma major reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 61.79 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. The company had reported net loss of Rs 92.83 crore in the same quarter last year. 

Rollovers

The rollover percentage of the Nifty futures for the May series stood at 74% which is higher than the average rollovers of 69% in last three series, while the market-wide rollovers came in at 76% as compared to the average rollovers of 75% in the last three series. 

"Rollovers have ended on a very strong note. High rolled percentages coupled with aggression from long rollers corroborate the fact that the undertone remains positive. However, we expect some volatility to set in as Nifty attempts to break towards new highs. The most keenly followed event would be the advancement of monsoon into the main land," said brokerage Edelweiss Securities in its rollover report. 

OPEC, non-OPEC extend oil output cut

OPEC and non-members led by Russia decided on Thursday to extend cuts in oil output by nine months to March 2018 as they battle a global glut of crude after seeing prices halve and revenues drop sharply in the past three years.

While OPEC's move had been expected, some oil market investors had hoped producers would agree to longer or deeper cuts to drain a global glut of oil. Talk around extending the cuts had driven crude futures higher in recent days, with the confirmation prompting profit-taking.

US crude prices were flat at $48.88 early on Friday, after losing 4.8% overnight, set to end the week 2.8% lower.

Global markets

Asian stocks dropped, turning away from Wall Street's strong performance overnight. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, which closed at a two-year high on Thursday, fell 0.2%, shrinking its weekly gain to 1.5%.

Japan's Nikkei also slipped 0.2% on track for a 1% increase for the week.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at record highs after strong earnings reports from retailers.

The strong performance helped lift MSCI's global stocks index to a record close overnight.

(With inputs from Reuters)