Key benchmark indices continued to hover in negative terrain in early afternoon trade. At 12:16 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 54.44 points or 0.18% at 29,863.96. The Nifty 50 index was down 11.05 points or 0.12% at 9,293. The Sensex was trading below the psychological 30,000 level after hovering above that level till morning trade.
The Sensex and the Nifty slipped into the negative terrain in mid-morning trade after hovering in positive zone till morning trade as Markit data on India's manufacturing sector in April disappointed investors.
The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.03%. The decline in this index was lower than the Sensex's slide in percentage terms. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.1%, outperforming the Sensex.
The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1,432 shares declined and 1,191 shares rose. A total of 135 shares were unchanged.
Auto stocks were mixed. Bajaj Auto (up 0.82%) edged higher. TVS Motor Company (down 0.03%) and Ashok Leyland (down 2.22%) edged lower.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) was up 0.48%. The company's total auto sales declined 6% to 39,357 units in April 2017 over April 2016. Domestic sales fell 4% to 37,829 units in April 2017 over April 2016. Exports slumped 39% to 1,528 units in April 2017 over April 2016.
M&M's total tractor sales rose 22% to 26,001 units in April 2017 over April 2016. Domestic sales grew by 21% to 25,081 units in April 2017 over April 2016. Exports surged 35% to 920 units in April 2017 over April 2016. The announcements were made during market hours today, 2 May 2017.
Meanwhile, ratings agency CARE reaffirmed its ratings on M&M's long term bank facilities amounting to Rs 184 crore with CARE AAA with a stable outlook. It also reaffirmed its ratings on the company's short term bank facilities amounting to Rs 66 crore with CARE A1+. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 28 April 2017.
Tata Motors declined 1.61% after the company's total passenger and commercial vehicle sales declined 21% to 30,972 units in April 2017 over April 2016. The company's commercial vehicle sales were affected by the Supreme Court judgement announced on 29 March 2017, with the ban on BS3 sales, leading to the need for a higher quantity of BS4 stock for April sales.
Tata Motors' commercial vehicles sales in the domestic market slumped 36% to 16,017 units in April 2017 over April 2016, an unusual decline, in exceptional circumstances. Tata Motors expects production, wholesales and retails to pick up in May and June. The announcement was made on Monday, 1 May 2017.
Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) advanced 1.98% after the company's total sales rose 19.5% to 1.51 lakh units in April 2017 over April 2016. Domestic sales grew by 23.4% to 1.44 lakh units in April 2017 over April 2016. Exports declined 29.4% to 6,723 units in April 2017 over April 2016. The announcement was made on Monday, 1 May 2017.
Hero MotoCorp (HMCL) was up 1.13%. The company's total two-wheeler sales declined 3.5% to 5.91 lakh units in April 2017 over April 2016. The two-wheeler industry witnessed heavy retail off-take towards the end of March 2017 in view of the transition from BS III to BS IV vehicles. With the ongoing marriage season, the company expects to maintain the trend of robust retail sales in May.
HMCL raised the prices - ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 2,200 - across different models to partially offset the commodity cost increases, effective from 1 May 2017. The announcement was made on Monday, 1 May 2017.
Eicher Motors was down 0.64%. The company on 1 May 2017 said that total sales of VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) declined 42.4% to 3,089 units in April 2017 over April 2016. VE Commercial Vehicles is an unlisted subsidiary of Eicher Motors.
Separately, Eicher Motors on 1 May 2017 said its total motorcycles sales grew by 25% to 60,142 units in April 2017 over April 2016. Exports surged 36% to 1,578 units in April 2017 over April 2016.
IT stocks advanced. HCL Technologies (up 1.26%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.9%), TCS (up 0.79%), Wipro (up 0.56%) and Tech Mahindra (up 0.19%) edged higher.
Infosys was off 0.05%. The company said it plans to hire 10,000 American workers over the next two years. As part of this initiative, the company will open four new technology and innovation hubs across the country focusing on cutting-edge technology areas, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, user experience, emerging digital technologies, cloud, and big data. The announcement was made during market hours today, 2 May 2017.
Coal India was off 0.14%. The company said that production of the company and its subsidiary companies on provisional basis was 88% of targeted production at 38.44 million tonnes in April 2017. Offtake was 91% of target at 45.29 million tonnes in April 2017. The announcement was made during market hours today, 2 May 2017.
On the macro front, Markit Economics in a press release issued during market hours today, 2 May 2017, said that manufacturing conditions in India improved for the fourth straight month in April. However, the headline Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' index (PMI) remained unchanged at 52.5 in April as in March.
The combined index of eight core industries comprising nearly 38% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) stood at 202.9 in March 2017, which was 5% higher compared to the index of March 2016. The data was released by the government yesterday, 1 May 2017.
Overseas, Asian stocks were mixed after resumption of trading at major stock exchanges after being shut for a public holiday on Monday, 1 May 2017. US stocks closed slightly higher on Monday, 1 May 2017, shaking off comments from President Donald Trump about breaking up the big banks.
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