Sensex Ends Day In Red; Metal Stocks Lead Losses

After opening the day in red, share markets in India witnessed negative trading activity throughout the day and ended the day in red. Sectoral indices traded mixed, with stocks in the power sector and stocks in the metal sector, leading the losses.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 159 points (down 0.5%) and the NSE Nifty closed down by 57 points (down 0.5%). The BSE Mid Cap index ended the day down 0.8%, while the BSE Small Cap index ended the day down by 0.7%.

The rupee was trading at Rs 68.69 against the US$ in the afternoon session. Oil prices were trading at US$ 78.67 at the time of writing.

Asian stock markets finished mixed. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng was up by 1.6% and the Shanghai Composite was down by 2.5%. The Nikkei 225 was down by 2.2%. Meanwhile, European markets, were trading on a positive note. The FTSE 100 was up by 0.4%. The DAX, was down by 0.8% while the CAC 40 was down by 0.9%

In news from the manufacturing sector. Activity in India’s manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace in seven months in June supported by strong domestic and export orders.

According to the Nikkei Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey by Markit, India’s manufacturing continued to increase the pace of expansion in June after a good showing in in May.

The PMI is the reading of the country’s manufacturing sector output and is updated monthly. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while any score below the mark denotes contraction.

PMI in June stood at 53.1, an increase from the 51.2 reading in May, indicating a sustained expansion. This is the eleventh consecutive month that the manufacturing PMI remained above the 50-point mark, which separates expansion from contraction. Notably, the PMI reading in June expanded at its fastest pace in the last seven months.

Manufacturing Activity Eases Pace in May