Key benchmarks turn flat

A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmarks were trading flat after bouncing back from the day's low in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 1.87 points or 0.01% at 31,295.66. The Nifty 50 index was down 17.40 points or 0.18% at 9,636.10. Negative global cues spoiled investors sentiment.

Broader market was, however, hovering in positive terrain. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.13%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.20%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1,347 shares fell and 1,211 shares rose. A total of 169 shares were unchanged.

Capital goods shares were mixed. Punj Lloyd (up 2.81%), ABB India (up 1.57%), Bharat Electronics (up 1.19%), Suzlon Energy (up 1.08%), Crompton Greaves (up 0.83%), BEML (up 0.63%), Jindal Saw (up 0.61%), Reliance Defence and Engineering (up 0.44%), SKF India (up 0.25%), GE T&D India (up 0.15%) and GE Power India (up 0.05%), edged higher. Lakshmi Machine Works (down 0.41%), Praj Industries (down 0.62%), AIA Engineering (down 0.64%), Havells India (down 0.64%), Siemens (down 0.64%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (down 0.98%) and Thermax (down 2.2%), edged lower.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was up 1.03% at Rs 1,768.70. On the BSE, 2.39 crore shares were traded in the counter so far, compared with average daily volumes of 1.79 lakh shares in the past two weeks.

The government reportedly sold a 2.5% stake in L&T today, 21 June 2017, raising more than Rs 4000 crore that will help the government meet its annual fiscal deficit target. The stake, held by the state-owned Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI), was sold through block deals in stock markets. SUUTI owned a 6.549% stake in L&T as of 31 March 2017.

Cement shares declined. UltraTech Cement (down 0.9%) and Ambuja Cements (down 0.17%), edged higher. ACC was up 0.35%.

Grasim Industries was down 0.42%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

ABB India rose 1.10% to Rs 1,512.05 on reports that the company is in discussions with L&T to acquire its electrical and automation division. The L&T division had generated revenues of Rs 4650 crore and operating profit of a little over Rs 700 crore in the year ended 31 March 2017 (FY 2017) and is expected to be valued at Rs 14000-18000 crore, report added. According to reports, ABB has offered over Rs 14000 crore for the deal and discussions are yet to arrive at a final figure.

Overseas, European stocks edged lower as oil and gas, financial and tech shares struggled. Most Asian shares declined following a sell off in energy shares after oil prices slipped around 2% overnight.

China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.52%. MSCI said yesterday, 20 June 2017, it planned on adding China A-shares to its benchmark MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The index giant said it will add 222 China A Large Cap stocks in a phased manner beginning next year. The review is the fourth straight year MSCI has considered adding the mainland-traded stocks.

US stocks declined overnight as investors dumped energy shares after crude-oil prices sank into bear-market territory amid growing concerns that an uptick in global production would derail Opec's efforts to reduce supply. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61.85 points, or 0.3%, to end at 21,467.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 50.98 points, or 0.8%, to close at 6,188.03.

In the global commodities markets, Brent for August 2017 settlement was down 10 cents at $45.92 a barrel. The contract fell 89 cents, or 1.90% to settle at $46.02 a barrel during the previous trading session.

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