Benchmark indices languish in negative zone

A rangebound movement was witnessed as key benchmark indices languished in negative zone in morning trade. At 10:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 36.18 points or 0.14% at 26,677.75. The Nifty 50 index was currently down 14.35 points or 0.18% at 8,165.60.

The Sensex lost 67.98 points or 0.25% at the day's low of 26,645.95 in morning trade, its lowest level since 31 May 2016. The barometer index rose 31.27 points or 0.11% at the day's high of 26,745.20 in early trade. The Nifty lost 25.20 points or 0.3% at the day's low of 8,154.75 in morning trade, its lowest level since 31 May 2016. The index rose 5.90 points or 0.07% at the day's high of 8,185.85 in early trade.

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market turned negative from positive in morning trade. On BSE, 778 shares rose and 969 shares declined. A total of 86 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.03%, outperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently down 0.18%. The decline in this index was higher than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms.

In overseas stock markets, Japanese stocks edged lower as the yen strengthened against the dollar. The Nikkei 225 Average was currently off 2.35%. A stronger yen hurts the competitiveness of Japanese exporters. US stocks eked out minuscule gains yesterday, 1 June 2016, following an intraday recovery in oil prices and better-than-expected manufacturing data. The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index rose to 51.3% last month from 50.8% in April. The data showed that manufacturers are expanding their businesses at a very slow pace.

Cement stocks declined. Ambuja Cements (down 0.48%), UltraTech Cement (down 0.35%) and ACC (down 0.48%) edged lower. Shree Cement (up 0.96%) edged higher.

Grasim Industries was off 0.55%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

IT stocks witnessed a mixed trend. Tech Mahindra (up 1.36%), Wipro (up 0.73%) and TCS (up 0.29%) edged higher. Oracle Financial Services Software (down 1.31%), Persistent Systems (down 1.46%) and HCL Technologies (down 0.02%) edged lower.

Index heavyweight and software major Infosys was up 1.18% at Rs 1,271.25. The stock hit a record high of Rs 1,274 in intraday trade. The stock hit a low of Rs 1,253 so far during the day.

Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC declined 0.98% at Rs 357.20. The stock hit a high of Rs 361 and a low of Rs 355.15 so far during the day.

Meanwhile, the central government yesterday, 1 June 2016, announced increase ranging from 1.5% to 9.2% in the minimum support prices (MSPs) of Kharif crops for the 2016-17 season. The MSPs include a bonus of Rs 425 per quintal for pulses, namely Arhar (Tur), Urad and Moong, a bonus of Rs 200 per quintal for Sesamum and a bonus of Rs 100 per quintal for other kharif oilseeds namely, Groundnut-in-shell, Sunflowerseed, Soyabean, and Nigerseed. The government said in a statement that the decision to offer bonus over MSP on pulses and oilseeds is aimed at giving a strong price signal to farmers to increase acreage and invest for increase in productivity of these crops. There is an increasing gap between the demand and domestic supply of pulses and oilseeds and the reliance on import is increasing. The increase in cultivation of leguminous pulses and oilseeds will also have additional environmental benefits as these crops are less water consuming and help in nitrogen fixation in the soil.

With a view to stabilize prices of pulses, the government is also creating buffer stocks of pulses through both domestic procurement and import.

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