Sensex edgy ahead of F&O expiry

Today's major news

Mahindra & Mahindra Q1 total income up 21.6% yoy; the stock ends 0.66% higher

Aban Offshore soars as reinsurer settles claim; the stock closes 8.91% up

Sun Pharmaceuticals surges on strong Q1 nos; the stock ends 2.04% higher



Global signals

The European shares traded with a negative bias on Wednesday erasing early gains.

All the major Asian indices closed in the positive territory. Shanghai Composite and Nikkei surged over 2% each. SGX Nifty closed 44 points lower.

The US stock index futures pointed higher opening at the Wall Street on Wednesday. The investors are eagerly waiting for results of the companies like Boeing and Visa.

Indian indices

The domestic indices fell despite of strong Asian markets as selling pressure was witnessed in the index heavyweights. Reliance Industries led the decline as the investors speculated that the company’s quarterly profit growth would slow amid delays in increasing natural gas output. Other heavyweights like Larsen & Toubro, ICICI Bank and Hindustan Unilever also led the fall. The European stocks turned in the red erasing its early gains, which also fuelled the decline. The Sensex and the Nifty breached the crucial levels of 18000 and 5400 respectively ahead of July series F&O expiry.

The Sensex started the day at 18078 on par with the previous session’s close. In its initial trade, the index touched the day’s high of 18137 on the back of strong Asian cues. However, the index traded in a very narrow range and struggled for direction throughout the morning session. In the afternoon session, the Sensex pared all gains and slipped into the negative zone. The Sensex broke the 18000 levels and touched the day’s low of 17925 as the European stocks turned negative and selling pressure in the index heavyweights.

The key benchmark indices closed below their crucial levels for the first time in the last five trading sessions. The Sensex shut at 17957, 120 points lower and the Nifty ended 33 points lower at 5398.

Market Outlook: Tonight markets would surely watch some economic data in the US, durable goods orders for June, while earnings highlights include Boeing (Dow), Comcast, ConocoPhillips, Newmont and Visa.

Market sentiment

The market breadth was negative as declining stocks outpaced the advancing ones. Of the 3,012 shares traded on the BSE, 1,682 shares declined whereas 1,197 shares advanced. Hundred and thirty-three shares closed unchanged.

Sectoral & stock screening

Of the 13 sectoral indices, only four sectors closed in the green. BSE Oil & Gas was the worst performer, down by 1.92%, followed by BSE Realty that slid by 1.29%. On the flip side, BSE Auto and BSE healthcare (HC) gained by 0.66% and 0.30% respectively.

In ‘A’ group stocks’ front, Aban Offshore was the star stock of the day, up by 8.91% after the reinsurers agreed to settle the insurance claim in regards to the semi-submersible rig Aban Pearl, followed by Asian Paints that was up by 6.66% on strong Q1 results and Cummins India that rose by 4.67%. The top-3 losers were Everest Kanto Cylinders down by 6.71% on poor Q1 results, Glenmark Pharma that fell by 5.06% and Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals that shed 3.83% on disappointing Q1 results.

Viewing volumes

Industrial finance company - IFCI was the most actively traded share with over 0.44 crore shares changing hands on the BSE, followed by India’s largest private sector offshore drilling contractor - Aban Offshore (0.29 crore shares), India’s largest private sector company - Reliance Industries (0.26 crore shares), India’s second largest developer - Unitech (0.22 crore shares) and wind turbine major - Suzlon Energy (0.21 crore shares).