Nifty drops below 10,000

Key benchmark indices edged lower in early trade despite mostly higher Asian stocks. At 9:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 47.55 points or 0.15% at 32,190.33. The Nifty 50 index was down 14.40 points or 0.14% at 9,999.25. Nifty fell below the psychologically important 10,000 mark.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.4%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.19%. The decline in both the indices was higher than the Sensex's fall in percentage terms.

The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 731 shares fell and 527 shares rose. A total of 61 shares were unchanged.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 3.2%), Lupin (down 2.45%) and Cipla (down 1.75%) dropped from the Sensex pack.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) gained 0.11% ahead of its Q1 results today, 4 August 2017.

M&M informed that the loans & investment committee of directors approved selling up to 96.66 lakh equity shares, or 13.74% equity of the company in Mahindra Logistics (MLL), a subsidiary of M&M, as part of the proposed initial public offering of MLL. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 3 August 2017.

Infosys rose 0.4% after the company announced a definitive agreement to acquire Brilliant Basics, a London-based product design and customer experience (CX) innovator. This acquisition represents Infosys' commitment to the expansion of a worldwide connected network of Digital Studios. These studios are focused on fulfilling the needs of global clients for end-to-end digital Transformation solutions required to meet customer demand for next-generation enhanced customer experiences.

With Infosys Digital Studios spanning the globe - from Bengaluru and Pune to New York, London and Melbourne - the addition of Brilliant Basics will enhance the company's expertise in the financial services, retail and telco sectors across Europe and the Middle East. The acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of fiscal 2018. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 3 August 2017.

Meanwhile, the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2017 was passed by the lower house of the parliament yesterday, 3 August 2017. It will replace the Non-Performing Assets Ordinance, which came into effect earlier this year. The measure allows the RBI to initiate insolvency resolution process on specific stressed-assets. The RBI would also be empowered to issue other directions for resolution, appoint or approve for appointment, authorities or committees to advise the banking companies for stressed-asset resolution.

Overseas, most Asian stocks rose ahead of the US employment report. In US, Dow Jones Industrials Average managed to post slight gains, staying above the 22,000 level and hitting fresh record high while, the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite index closed lower weighed down by Amazon.com, Apple and other top-shelf technology stocks yesterday, 3 August 2017.

Labor Department data showed weekly jobless claims fell last week, pointing to a tightening labour market, while a report from the Institute for Supply Management showed its non-manufacturing index fell to 53.9 last month from 57.4 in June. US employment report for July is due later during the global day.

In Europe, the Bank of England (BOE) held interest rates steady at 0.25%, as expected, while largely sticking to its previous assumptions for growth and inflation over the three-year forecast horizon. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority of 6-2 to keep rates at record low levels in August. Meantime, the UK's central bank maintained stock levels of government bonds and corporate bonds at 435 billion and 10 billion respectively.

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