Face of Nation : Domestic stock markets started Wednesday’s session on a largely flat note amid choppy trade, tracking a cautious trend in Asian peers. The S&P BSE Sensex opened 28.83 points lower at 38,701.99, and moved in a range of 244.56 points in the first few minutes of trade, to touch 38,854.85 and 38,610.29 at the session’s strongest and weakest points respectively. The NSE Nifty index moved between 11,516.30 and 11,593.10, as against its previous close of 11,555.90. Analysts awaited key macroeconomic data and corporate earnings announcements by large caps due this week.
At 9:42 am, the Sensex traded 99.33 points – or 0.26 per cent – higher at 38,830.15, while the Nifty was up 22.30 points – or 0.19 per cent – at 11,578.20.
Top percentage gainers on the 50-scrip index at the time were Zee Entertainment, Coal India, Yes Bank, HCL Tech and Britannia, trading between 1.18 per cent and 2.13 per cent higher.
Prominent laggards included Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Hindalco, TCS and JSW Steel, struggling with losses of between 0.67 per cent and 1.83 per cent.
Infosys, HDFC and HDFC Bank were the top contributors to the advances in Sensex, while TCS, Bajaj Finance and Tata Motors weighed on the index the most.
TCS or Tata Consultancy Services shares were in focus a day after the IT major reported a net profit of Rs. 8,131 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, beating analysts’ estimates and kicking off the earnings.
The government is due to release data on industrial production and consumer inflation on Friday. IT services major Infosys will be releasing its earnings for the quarter ended June 30 on the same day.
Equities in other Asian markets inched ahead while higher Treasury yields lifted the dollar as markets wondered if the world’s most powerful central banker would confirm or confound expectations for US policy easing this month. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.2 per cent, after three sessions of losses.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will testify before the US Congress on Wednesday and Thursday.
Futures are still fully priced for a 25-basis-point cut at the Fed’s July 30-31 meeting, but have abandoned wagers on a half-point move. They had implied a 25 per cent probability of an aggressive cut before Friday’s upbeat jobs report.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.08 per cent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq added 0.12 per cent and 0.54 per cent respectively.
The Sensex had ended up 10.25 points at 38,730.82 on Tuesday, after shedding 1,187.49 points, or 2.98 per cent – in the past two sessions. The 50-scrip Nifty index fell 390.85 points – or 3.27 per cent – during this period.
