Shares end with modest gains

Key benchmark indices shrugged off mixed Asian cues and ended with modest gains. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 263.09 points or 0.74% to settle at 35,641.69. The Nifty 50 index rose 70 points or 0.65% to settle at 10,769.90. Positive economic data boosted investors sentiment.

After opening higher, indices reversed trend and hit fresh intraday low in early trade. Indices bounced back in mid-morning trade and hit fresh intraday high in mid-afternoon trade. The Sensex rose 288.71 points, or 0.82% at the day's high of 35,667.31 in mid-afternoon trade. The index fell 68.93 points, or 0.19% at the day's low of 35,309.67 in early trade. The Nifty rose 77.25 points, or 0.72% at the day's high of 10,777.15 in mid-afternoon trade. The index fell 22.15 points, or 0.21% at the day's low of 10,677.75 in early trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.24%. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.35%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1,258 shares rose and 1,354 shares fell. A total of 133 shares were unchanged.

NTPC (down 1.45%), ONGC (down 1.3%), Vedanta (down 1.23%), Power Grid Corporation of India (down 1.14%), Bharti Airtel (down 1.11%) and Tata Motors (down 0.96%), were the major Sensex losers.

Bajaj Auto (up 3.84%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 2.73%), Hindustan Unilever (up 2.08%), HDFC (up 1.93%), Reliance Industries (up 1.89%), HDFC Bank (up 1.70%) and IndusInd Bank (up 1.48%), were the major Sensex gainers.

On the macro front, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index rose from 49.6 in May to 52.6 in June. The latest upturn pointed to solid growth that was the fastest since last June. The rise in activity was supported by greater inflows of new work. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index rose from 50.4 in May to 53.3 in June, supported by output growth in both the manufacturing and service sectors. The latest reading was the strongest seen since October 2016 and indicative of a solid rate of expansion. The data was announced during trading hours today, 4 July 2018.

On the economic front, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs at its meeting today, 4 July 2018, reportedly approved the minimum support price (MSP) of 14 Kharif (summer-sown) crops. The MSP of paddy (common grade) has been increased by Rs 200 to Rs 1,750 per quintal, while that of Grade A variety by Rs 160 per quintal to Rs 1,750. The MSP of paddy (common) was Rs 1,550 per quintal and Rs 1,590 per quintal for paddy (grade A) variety. Hike in paddy MSP will increase the food subsidy bill by over Rs 11,000 crore based on procurement figure of the 2016-17 marketing year (October-September), media reports added.

Overseas, most European shares slipped as worries over global trade persisted, with sentiment souring around semiconductor stocks in particular after US peer Micron was banned from selling chips in China.

Asian stocks ended mixed as trade jitters continued to simmer ahead of a deadline when tariffs are due to take effect. 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.

US stock-market indexes closed lower on Tuesday, reversing earlier gains as losses in the technology and financials sectors outweighed advances in energy, telecoms and real-estate shares. On the data front, US factory orders climbed 0.4% in May.

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