Auto, cement stocks in demand

Stocks trimmed gains in early afternoon trade. At 12:19 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 87.03 points or 0.24% at 35,779.55. The Nifty 50 index was up 22.50 points or 0.21% at 10,865.35. Auto stocks gained. Cement stocks rose.

Domestic stocks drifted higher in early trade. Stocks trimmed gains in morning trade. Key benchmark indices once again regained strength in mid-morning trade

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.17%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.3%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1364 shares rose and 1070 shares fell. A total of 128 shares were unchanged.

Auto stocks gained. Bajaj Auto (up 1.11%), Tata Motors (up 0.41%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.53%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.15%), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (up 0.36%), Eicher Motors (up 0.32%) and Ashok Leyland (up 0.07%) gained. Escorts (down 0.53%) and TVS Motor Company (down 0.13%) fell.

Cement stocks rose. Ambuja Cements (up 1.88%), ACC (up 2.21%), UltraTech Cement (up 1%) and Shree Cement (up 0.16%) gained.

Grasim Industries was off 0.39%. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

Bharat Forge rose 1.81% after the company said it took a strategic stake in electric vehicle company, Tevva Motors (Jersey). The announcement was made at the fag end of the trading session yesterday, 12 June 2018. Shares of Bharat Forge rose 0.78% to Rs 653.20 yesterday, 12 June 2018.

Bharat Forge announced a strategic investment of 10 million in Tevva Motors (Jersey) (Tevva), a company incorporated and registered under the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 carrying out its operations from Chelmsford, UK. Tevva provides electric powertrain solutions for commercial vehicles & buses in the 7.5 -14 T weight category. This is soon to be extended for the development of new commercial vehicles, especially trucks and buses.

On the macro front, India's retail inflation in May rose to a four-month high of 4.87% due to costly petrol and diesel, and a weak rupee while industrial production recovered marginally to grow at 4.9% in April, data released by government after market hours yesterday, 12 June 2018 showed.

Traders and investors are closely awaiting a series of domestic and global events this week. The wholesale price index (WPI) inflation data will be announced tomorrow, 14 June 2018.

On the global front, the US Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting concludes today, 13 June 2018. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates for the second time this year after a move in March as the US economy remains solid. Investors will closely watch the outlook for future monetary tightening amid an ongoing economic expansion.

The European Central Bank (ECB) will hold its policy meeting tomorrow, 14 June 2018 in which policy makers are poised to hold formal talks on ending its bond-buying program. The Bank of Japan meets on Friday, 15 June 2018 with no change to policy expected.

Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading lower as investors looked to the US Federal Reserve policy decision later in the day and any clues it might give on future rate hikes, shifting focus away from the historic US-North Korea summit in Singapore.

US stocks closed little changed yesterday, 12 June 2018 after US President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un signed an agreement aimed at establishing a peace regime on the Korean peninsula and better relations between the two states. Lack of detail in the agreement about the path to denuclearization on the peninsula kept the market's moves in check throughout the day.

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