Indices register modest gains

Stocks logged modest gains in a choppy session of trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 114.19 points or 0.32% to settle at 35,378.60. The Nifty 50 index rose 42.60 points or 0.4% to settle at 10,699.90. Pharma shares gained. Oil stocks were in demand.

The market opened almost flat and hit fresh intraday low in early trade. Indices bounced back in mid-morning trade. Key benchmarks trimmed gains in early afternoon trade and turned range bound in mid-afternoon trade. Stocks hovered in a small range in late trade.

The Sensex rose 114.19 points or 0.32% to settle at 35,378.60. The index hit high of 35,445.21 and low of 35,195.63 during the day.

The Nifty 50 index rose 42.60 points or 0.4% to settle at 10,699.90. The index hit high of 10,713.30 and low of 10,630.25 during the day.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.69%. The BSE Small-Cap index was rose 0.44%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1348 shares rose and 1265 shares fell. A total of 133 shares were unchanged.

Among the sectoral indices on BSE, the S&P BSE Healthcare index (up 1.8%), the S&P BSE IT index (up 1.07%), the S&P BSE Auto index (up 1%) outperformed the Sensex. The S&P BSE Metal index (down 0.27%), the S&P BSE Bankex (down 0.19%), the S&P BSE Consumer Durables index (down 0.09%) underperformed the Sensex.

Pharma shares gained. Aurobindo Pharma (up 4%), Cipla (up 4%), Cadila Healthcare (up 0.54%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 1.49%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 1.78%), Lupin (up 1.67%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.79%), Alkem Laboratories (up 2.7%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 0.88%) and Wockhardt (up 2.01%) rose.

Strides Shasun rose 2.28%. Strides Shasun announced that it's wholly owned subsidiary Strides Pharma Global Pte. has received final approval for Ibuprofen Tablets USP, 200 mg (OTC) from the United States Food & Drug Administration (US FDA). Ibuprofen Tablets 200 mg (OTC) is a generic version of Motrin IB Tablets, 200 mg, of Johnson & Johnson Consumer, Inc. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 2 July 2018.

Oil stocks were in demand. Among state-run oil marketing companies, BPCL (up 0.8%) and Indian Oil Corporation (up 0.71%) edged higher. HPCL fell 0.17%.

Among oil explorers, ONGC (up 1.28%), Reliance Industries (up 1.1%) and Oil India (up 0.87%) edged higher.

Hero MotoCorp rose 1.07%. The company reported 13% growth in sales to 7.04 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters in June 2018 over June 2017. With monsoon already hitting many parts of the country, the positive consumption pattern is expected to continue in the coming months. Hero MotoCorp is geared-up with an array of products - including its premium motorcycle and the new scooter range - to add to the positive sentiments and further delight the customers. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 2 July 2018.

Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) gained 0.82% after the company recorded highest ever first quarter domestic steel production during April - June 2018. The domestic crude steel production at JSPL's integrated steel plants at Angul and Raigarh during the quarter April - June 2018 clocked a record 1.23 million tonnes, i.e. a rise of 36% from 0.90 million tonne, a year ago. The announcement was made during market hours today, 3 July 2018.

JSPL also recorded a 46% growth in domestic sales during Q1 2018-19 to 1.18 million tonnes, up from 0.81 million tonne in Q1 of the previous fiscal. The 9 MTPA Pellet Plant also recorded its highest ever production during the month of June 2018, bettering all its previous records. Jindal Shadeed - JSPL's subsidiary in Oman, also recorded the best ever quarter in its history, clocking its highest ever crude as well as finished steel production and sales during April - June 2018.

Aban Offshore jumped 5.92%. Aban Offshore announced that its step-down subsidiary Aban Singapore Pte has received a letter of award from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for deployment of jack-up rig Deep Driller 8 for a firm period of two years. The deployment is likely to commence during the fourth quarter of calendar year 2018. The announcement was made during market hours today, 3 July 2018.

NCC rose 1.91%. NCC announced that the company has received four new orders totaling to Rs 2060.96 crore (exclusive of GST) in June 2018. Out of this, three orders totaling to Rs 1997.51 crore pertain to buildings division and one order of Rs 63.45 crore pertain to water & environment division. All these orders are received from various central and state government agencies and do not include any internal orders. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 2 July 2018.

The company has so far received new orders of Rs 3668.78 crore (exclusive of GST) up to June 2018, i.e. in the first three months of the current financial year.

Overseas, European stocks were trading higher, though lingering concerns over global trade appeared to cap gains. Most Asian shares ended lower on concerns over the impact of ongoing trade wars.

A looming 6 July 2018 deadline is set to see the US impose a 25% tariff on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods from more than 800 product categories. China has also announced that it will retaliate with duties on the same value of US products.

In US, shares reversed early losses to finish higher on the back of a rally in technology shares. However, worries over trade tensions between the US and its major trading partners lingered, weighing on investors' sentiment. A trade war is seen as providing a significant headwind to global growth.

On the US data front, a read on June manufacturing from Markit came in at 55.4, compared with a preliminary reading of 54.6. Separately, the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index rose to 60.2% in June from 58.7%. A read on construction spending rose 0.4% in May.

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