A strong intraday rebound witnessed in early afternoon trade proved short lived. Key benchmark indices once again drifted lower in afternoon trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was currently hovering below the psychological 28,000 level, having alternately moved above and below that level in intraday trade so far. Earlier, the Sensex had fallen below the psychological 28,000 level in early trade. The Sensex was currently off 138.14 points or 0.49% at 27,929.17. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive.
Shares of power generation and power distribution companies were mixed. Most metal stocks rose.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 403.76 crore during the previous trading session on Friday, 14 August 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 179.20 crore on Friday, 14 August 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
In overseas markets, European stocks edged higher in early trade. Asian stocks edged lower. US stocks closed higher during the previous trading session on Friday, 14 August 2015, after a string of upbeat economic reports.
At 13:17 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 138.14 points or 0.49% at 27,929.17. The index fell 328.18 points at the day's low of 27,739.13 in early trade. The index rose 28.66 points at the day's high of 28,095.97 at the onset of the trading session.
The CNX Nifty was down 21.95 points or 0.26% at 8,496.60. The index hit a low of 8,428.05 in intraday trade. The index hit a high of 8,530.60 in intraday trade, its highest level since 11 August 2015.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 47.14 points or 0.41% at 11,500.92. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 39.84 points or 0.34% at 11,806.62. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. On BSE, 1,318 shares rose and 1,265 shares declined. A total of 117 shares were unchanged.
Most metal stocks rose. JSW Steel (up 3.58%), Hindustan Copper (up 0.6%), Tata Steel (up 2.38%), Steel Authority of India (Sail) (up 0.53%), Hindustan Zinc (up 2.62%), and National Aluminum Company (up 2.53%) gained. NMDC (down 0.82%), Hindalco Industries (down 2.2%), and Jindal Steel & Power (down 0.42%) declined.
Vedanta declined 1.4%. The company said during market hours today, 17 August 2015, that the company is in the process of issuing Secured, Rated, Non-Cumulative, Redeemable Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) of upto Rs 2000 crore on private placement basis. The issue is subject to favorable market conditions. The issuance of NCDs is part of the overall debt refinancing of the company to substitute the short term liabilities/borrowings/debt and/or to retire higher cost debt. The NCDs are proposed to be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). This issue is part of the overall approval of Rs 8000 crore by the Board of Directors and by the shareholders in the 50th AGM of the company held on 11 July 2015, permitting issuances in one or more series/tranches on private placement basis during a period of 12 months.
Shares of power generation and power distribution companies were mixed. Torrent Power (up 0.2%), NHPC (up 0.83%), Power Grid Corporation of India (up 0.36%), Reliance Infrastructure (up 0.7%) and Reliance Power (up 0.84%) gained. Tata Power Company (down 1.29%), NTPC (down 0.19%), and Adani Power (down 0.74%) declined.
Siemens rose 0.32%. Siemens said during market hours today, 17 August 2015, that the company is modernizing the power distribution grids of the cities of Amritsar, Jallandhar, Ludhiana, Dehradun and Faridabad in northern India. The total order size is Rs 75 crore. The objective of these projects is to improve the quality and availability of the power supply to residents as well as to reduce the downtimes in the event of blackouts in the entire grid. As part of the modernization, Siemens will implement its Spectrum Power network control system and equip the grid with SCADA/DMS functions (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition/Distribution Management System) for monitoring and control.
Separately, for the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company, Mumbai, Siemens is equipping the power distribution grids of eight cities with turnkey monitoring and control systems (SCADA/DMS). This contract was also awarded as part of the Indian government's energy development program.
Meanwhile, investors continue to watch the progress of the monsoon rains which will have a bearing on food prices and rural income. India's weather office, the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said in a daily report issued yesterday, 16 August 2015, that for the country as a whole, cumulative rainfall during this year's monsoon season was 10% below the Long Period Average (LPA) until 16 August 2015. Region wise, the rainfall was 20% below the LPA in South Peninsula, 13% below the LPA in East & Northeast India, 9% below the LPA in Central India and 1% above the LPA in Northwest India until 16 August 2015.
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 markets, European stocks edged higher in early trade today, 17 August 2015. Key indices in France, Germany and UK were up 0.12% to 1.2%.
Asian stocks edged lower today, 17 August 2015. Key indices in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea were off 0.57% to 1.11%. Key indices in China and Japan were up 0.49% to 0.71%. Indonesian stock market was shut due to holiday.
Japan's economy contracted in the April-June quarter, but managed to perform slightly better than expected, data released today, 17 August 2015 showed. Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 1.6% on an annualized basis in the April-June quarter.
US stocks closed higher during the previous trading session on Friday, 14 August 2015, after a string of upbeat economic reports.
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