Sensex trades flat after Brexit jitters

Mumbai: The downfall on the domestic stock markets was arrested on Monday. Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) suffered the worst fall in four months during the last week. BSE’s Sensex and NSE’s Nifty moved in a tight band by ending with measly gains amid mixed global conditions.

The 30-share Sensex closed at 26,402.96, a marginal rise of 5.25 points or 0.02 per cent. Sensex plunged nearly 605 points on Friday, its biggest single-day fall since February 11 following the Brexit as a shock victory for ‘Leave’ camp in the UK referendum sent shivers down the spine of global markets.

The NSE Nifty ended higher 6.10 points or 0.08 per cent at 8,094.70 after shuttling between 8,039.35 and 8,120.65.

Investors still are a worried lot as they tried to digest the full impact of the Brexit fallout.
However, the broader markets came up a little better as they outperformed Sensex, with the small-cap index rising 1.52 per cent and the mid-cap 0.80 per cent.

There was an element of choppiness too ahead of the June derivative contract expiry coming up on Thursday.

Sugar companies found themselves in a sweet spot as stocks led by Dalmia Bharat Sugar, Dwarikesh Sugar, Sakthi Sugars and Bajaj Hindusthan soared by up to 20 per cent in an otherwise flat market.
In the Sensex pack, Dr Reddy’s was on top of the gainers’ list by climbing 3.04 per cent, followed by SBI (2.77 per cent).

“Domestic sentiment was given a bit of a boost after global credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service reportedly said in a note that the Indian government’s recent decision to relax FDI rules is credit positive,” said Shreyash Devalkar, Fund Manager – Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth net Rs 629.14 crore last Friday, according to provisional data.

In the 30-share Sensex basket, 14 rose while 14 declined and 2 remained unchanged.

Gaurang Shah, Vice-President, Geojit BNP Paribas, said: “Market has steadied in a narrow range. Volatility is foreseen in the market with the F&O expiry week. Developments in the euro zone will be the decisive factor for future market developments. A favorable monsoon, corporate earnings improvement, the possibility of the US Fed not raising key rates in the near future will be positive triggers, going ahead.”

The market breadth turned positive as 1,820 stocks ended higher, 788 declined while 179 ruled unchanged. The total turnover fell to Rs 3,279.90 crore, from Rs 3,968.19 crore last Friday.