Higher opening on cards

Market may gain in early trade on strong global cues. Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could gain 40 points at the opening bell.

Overseas, Asian stocks traded higher tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. US equities closed higher yesterday, 1 June 2017, as Wall Street got ready for the release of the monthly jobs report. The US government's nonfarm payrolls report is set for release today, 2 June 2017.

Meanwhile, data released by the private payroll firm ADP yesterday, 1 June 2017 showed that private US companies hired at a blistering pace in May, accelerating from the pause in April. Non-farm private employment surged 253,000 in May.

An improving labor market will likely support investors' expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates further in the coming months.

Among other global news, US President Donald Trump announced yesterday, 1 June 2017 that he will withdraw the US from the Paris climate pact, saying it favours other nations at the expense of American workers, while vowing to pursue a better deal.

The move reportedly drew an immediate condemnation from the leaders of France, Germany and Italy, who issued a statement insisting that the agreement was irreversible and cannot be renegotiated.

Closer home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 517.31 crore yesterday, 1 June 2017, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 171.65 crore yesterday, 1 June 2017, as per provisional data.

Among corporate news, Coal India announced that the company and its subsidiaries achieved 92% of targeted production at 40.74 million tonnes in May 2017. The company achieved 91% of targeted offtake at 46.41 million tonnes in May 2017. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 1 June 2017.

Hero MotoCorp (HMCL) said its total two-wheeler sales grew 8.7% to 6.33 lakh units in May 2017 over May 2016. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 1 June 2017.

With monsoon already hitting some parts of the country, and forecast of normal rains this year, the industry is expecting a boost in demand and consumption in the rural markets. Having lined up a slew of new launches across various segments, the company is confident of maintaining the growth trajectory in the coming months.

Meanwhile, HMCL commenced commercial production yesterday, 1 June 2017, in the manufacturing facility at its subsidiary HMCL Niloy Bangladesh. This plant, located at Jessore in Bangladesh, has an installed capacity of 1.50 lakh vehicles per annum.

Bharti Airtel announced that it has received the approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), BSE and National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) for the proposed Scheme of merger between Airtel and Telenor (India) Communications. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 1 June 2017.

Bharti Airtel further stated that Telenor India and Airtel have filed the joint company application before the New Delhi Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal for approval of the proposed Scheme of merger. The merger is inter alia subject to other statutory approvals including from the Competition Commission of India.

Airtel had earlier announced (in February 2017) that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Telenor South Asia Investments Pte Ltd (Telenor). As part Of the Scheme, Airtel will acquire Telenor India's running operations in seven circles - Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Assam. These circles represent a high population concentration and therefore offer a high potential for growth.

The proposed acquisition will include transfer of all of Telenor India's assets and customers, further augmenting Airtel's overall customer base and network. It will also enable Airtel to further bolster its strong spectrum foot-print in these seven circles, with the addition of 43.4 MHz spectrum in the 1800 MHz band.

Market ended a lackluster trading session on a flat note yesterday, 1 June 2017. The Sensex had fallen 8.21 points or 0.03% to settle at 31,137.59, its lowest closing level since 29 May 2017.

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