Sensex hits 1-1/2 week low

Key benchmark indices edged lower in volatile session of trade. After moving in a narrow range for most part of the day, key benchmark indices dropped to intraday low in late trade led by decline in oil & gas and IT stocks. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, hit its lowest level in 1-1/2 weeks. The 50-unit Nifty hit its lowest level in one week. The Sensex was provisionally down 83.86 points or 0.3% at 27,603.86. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive.

IT stocks declined ahead of Q1 June 2015 result of IT major TCS today, 9 July 2015. Index heavyweight and software major Infosys declined in volatile trade. PSU OMCs dropped sharply.

Earlier, key benchmark indices alternately swung between positive and negative zone in a small range in first half of the day's trading session.

In overseas markets, European stocks edged higher. Chinese stocks rallied after the Chinese central government and the People's Bank of China (PBOC) yesterday, 8 July 2015 unveiled a bunch of new measures to stem market rout boosted sentiment. Other Asian stocks were mixed today, 9 July 2015. US stocks closed sharply lower yesterday, 8 July 2015 after trading on the New York Stock Exchange was halted for three-and-a-half hours.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 354.32 crore yesterday, 8 July 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 346.71 crore yesterday, 8 July 2015, as per provisional data.

As per provisional closing, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 83.86 points or 0.3% at 27,603.86. The index fell 147.12 points at the day's low of 27,540.60 in late trade, its lowest level since 29 June 2015. The index gained points 110.41 at the day's high of 27,798.13 in early trade.

The CNX Nifty was down 34.50 points or 0.41% at 8,328.55. The index hit a low of 8,323 in intraday trade, its lowest level since 30 June 2015. The index hit a high of 8,400.30 in intraday trade.

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. On BSE, 1,504 shares gained and 1,300 shares fell. A total of 115 shares were unchanged.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was off 32.41 points or 0.3% at 10,844.70. The BSE Small-Cap index was off 37.28 points or 0.33% at 11,313.98. The fall in both these indices was lower than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 2612 crore, lower than turnover of Rs 4048.26 crore registered during the previous trading session.

IT stocks declined ahead of Q1 June 2015 result of IT major TCS today, 9 July 2015.

TCS (down 2.52%), Wipro (down 1.14%), Oracle Financial Services Software (down 2.05%) declined.

Index heavyweight and software major Infosys lost 1.6% to Rs 941.85. The stock hit high of Rs 966.95 and low of Rs 934.

HCL Technologies fell 1.53%. HCL Technologies during market hours today, 9 July 2015 said that the company is working with SAP as a key partner on the development of multichannel customer self-services for utilities. The SAP Multichannel Foundation for Utilities and Public Sector software allows utility companies to interact with their customers through different communication channels - including the Web (online self-services), mobile and social networks - via a set of standardized and reusable Open Data Protocol (OData) services that are used by end-user applications to access data and processes, HCL Technologies said.

The software is pre-integrated with the SAP Customer Relationship Management and Billing for Utilities package, and allows SAP and its partners to develop and offer customer-facing self-service applications at a low cost, the company said.

Tech Mahindra rose 1.04%. Tech Mahindra announced after trading hours yesterday, 8 July 2015, that it has collaborated with PNMsoft, a global provider of Intelligent BPM Software (iBPMS) solutions, to benefit from synergies in key vertical markets.

PNMsoft is a global provider of Intelligent BPM Software (iBPMS) solutions. PNMsoft SequenceTM, our Intelligent Business Process Management Suite, uses unique HotChange technology to enable rapid build and change of high availability workflow applications, while maintaining lifecycle governance. PNMsoft is on Gartner's iBPMS Magic Quadrant.

PSU OMCs dropped sharply. BPCL (down 5.41%), HPCL (down 1.61%) and Indian Oil Corporation (down 2.21%) declined.

Meanwhile, India's weather office, the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said in its daily monsoon update issued yesterday, 8 July 2015, that the Southwest Monsoon was active over Jharkhand and Bihar and was normal over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura, West Bengal & Sikkim, East Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, East Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and South Interior Karnataka during the past 24 hours until 8:30 IST.

For the country as a whole, cumulative rainfall during this year's monsoon season was 4% below the Long Period Average (LPA) until 8 July 2015. Region wise, the southwest monsoon was 9% above the LPA in Northwest India, 8% below the LPA in Central India and 7% below the LPA in South Peninsula and 4% below the LPA in East & Northeast India until 8 July 2015.

The quantum of and the spatial distribution of rainfall this month holds key, with July being a crucial month for the sowing of Kharif crops. The June-September southwest monsoon is critical for the country's agriculture because a considerable part of the country's farmland is dependent on the rains for irrigation.

In overseas market, European stocks edged higher today, 9 July 2015. Key indices in UK, France and Germany were up 0.95% to 1.98%. In Spain, the IBEX 35 index was up 2.14%. In Italy, the FTSE MIB index was up 1.94%.

Investors continue to monitor developments on Greece's debt crisis. A race to save Greece from bankruptcy and keep it in the euro gathered pace yesterday, 8 July 2015 when Athens reportedly formally applied for a three-year loan and European authorities launched an accelerated review of the request.

Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde yesterday, 8 July 2015 reportedly reiterated that Greece needs debt restructuring as part of a bailout deal, but warned that Athens won't receive special treatment as the government seeks to delay its loan repayments to the IMF.

Greece will submit a detailed reform proposal in the next few days, in a bid to unlock further bailout aid, the country's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reportedly told the European Parliament yesterday, 8 July 2015. Referring to his country's resounding "no" in Sunday's referendum, Tsipras stressed the vote wasn't a signal for Greece to break with Europe, but to return to the negotiating table with a stronger mandate.

Following the emergency euro zone summit in Brussels on 7 July 2015, European leaders gave debt-stricken Greece a final deadline of Sunday to reach a new bailout deal and avoid Greece's exit from the euro zone. Representatives of the 19-country euro zone said all 28 European Union leaders would meet on Sunday, 12 July 2015, to decide Greece's fate.

Greece's last bailout expired last Tuesday and Greece missed a euro 1.6 billion payment to the IMF.

Asian stocks were mixed today, 9 July 2015. Key benchmark indices in Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia fell by 0.54% to 0.69%. South Korea's Seoul Composite index rose 0.58%. Japan's Nikkei 225 index was up 0.6%.

Chinese stocks rose after the Chinese central government and the People's Bank of China (PBOC) yesterday, 8 July 2015 unveiled a bunch of new measures to stem market rout, including the PBOC providing loans to the state-backed margin financing entity -- China Securities Financing Corporation, the top securities regulator banning large shareholders from reducing their stakes on stock markets within six months, and the police department launching a joint investigation with the securities regulator against "malicious short-selling of stocks.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite index jumped 5.76%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 3.73%.

South Korea's central bank today, 9 July 2015 reportedly lowered its growth forecast for this year, highlighting strong headwind facing Asia's fourth-largest economy. The central bank now forecasts the country's gross domestic product will expand 2.8% in 2015--lower than its April estimate of 3.1%, as per reports. South Korea's economy expanded 3.3% in 2014.

Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could rise 136 points at the opening bell today, 9 July 2015. US stocks closed sharply lower yesterday, 8 July 2015 after trading on the New York Stock Exchange was halted for three-and-a-half hours and as investors grappled with a precipitous recent selloff in Chinese shares and nervousness over unresolved Greece debt crisis.

Minutes of the US central bank's meeting released yesterday, 8 July 2015 showed that only one of the 10 Fed officials with votes this year was reportedly ready to hike rates in June, but that official expressed a willingness to wait "another meeting or two". All of the other voting members said they needed more evidence that "economic growth was sufficiently strong and labor-market conditions had firmed enough to return inflation to the committee's longer-run objective over the medium term," according to the minutes. A number of Fed officials reportedly warned against a "premature" increase in interest rates.

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