Market trims gains

Key benchmark indices trimmed intraday gains in early afternoon trade. At 12:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 139 points or 0.46% at 30,033.80. The Nifty 50 index advanced 19.35 points or 0.21% at 9,331.30. The Sensex was trading above the psychological 30,000 level.

Among secondary indices, the BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.27%. The BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.23%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The Sensex advanced 112.60 points or 0.37% at the day's low of 30,007.40 in early afternoon trade. It rose 204.02 points or 0.68% at the day's high of 30,098.82 in morning trade, its highest level since 27 April 2017. The Nifty advanced 19.30 points or 0.2% at the day's low of 9,331.25 in early afternoon trade. It rose 49.45 points or 0.53% at the day's high of 9,361.40 in morning trade, its highest level since 27 April 2017.

Investors' sentiment was boosted in the wake of reports the Union Cabinet approved promulgation of an ordinance to amend the Banking Regulation Act for resolution of the bad loan crisis facing banks.

Closer home, the breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,415 shares rose and 1,206 shares declined. A total of 126 shares were unchanged.

IT stocks were mixed. HCL Technologies (down 1.58%), TCS (down 0.79%) and Tech Mahindra (down 0.1%) edged lower. Oracle Financial Services Software (up 1.03%), Wipro (up 0.11%) and Persistent Systems (up 0.07%) edged higher.

Infosys was down 0.41%. Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Infosys and The Commercial Bank, Qatar's first private bank, along with its subsidiary and associates (Group) announced the successful completion of a pilot on the first ever cloud-based blockchain network to process international remittances. The announcement was made at the fag end of market hours yesterday, 3 May 2017.

Auto stocks also witnessed a mixed trend. Tata Motors (down 1.57%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.55%) and Eicher Motors (down 0.27%) edged lower. Ashok Leyland (up 1.09%), Bajaj Auto (up 0.15%) and Hero MotoCorp (up 0.04%) edged higher.

Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) was down 0.07%. The company reported a 6.4% rise in production at 1.33 lakh units in April 2017 over April 2016. The production data also includes production from Suzuki Motor Gujarat. The announcement was made during market hours today, 4 May 2017.

Tata Power Company was up 0.43%. The company announced the launch of customer support chatbot in Mumbai, for enhancing customer service. Chatbot will allow customers to get their queries answered via chat on the company's mobile app and other various means. The announcement was made during market hours today, 4 May 2017.

Sundaram Clayton lost 2.59% after net profit dropped 56.07% to Rs 38.36 crore on 10.34% decline in total income to Rs 389.16 crore in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 3 May 2017.

On the macro front, data released by Markit Economics during market hours today, 4 May 2017 showed that the rate of increase in Indian service sector activity weakened in April 2017. The headline seasonally adjusted Nikkei Services PMI Business Activity Index was down at 50.2 in April, from 51.5 in March.

Overseas, Asian stocks witnessed a mixed trend after the US Federal Reserve indicated it remains on track to deliver two more rate increases by year-end.

China's service sector expanded at the slowest pace in nearly a year, a private gauge showed, pointing to possible softness in the sector. The Caixin China services purchasing managers' index slipped to 51.5 in April--the lowest since May 2016--from 52.2 in March, Caixin Media Co. and research firm Markit said.

US stocks closed little lower yesterday, 3 May 2017, as gains in banking shares were offset by declines in media stocks and Apple shares.

The US Federal Reserve yesterday, 3 May 2017, left monetary policy unchanged, as expected, and indicated it remains on track to deliver two more rate increases by year-end.

The Fed said that it would not change its interest rate target this month. However, the Fed also stated that a recent economic slowdown was transitory, fuelling hopes among investors for future rate rises.

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