Sensex down; rupee strengthens

Indian shares erased early gains to settle largely flat yesterday due to volatility around the expiry of June derivative contracts, with Reliance Industries and Tech Mahindra among the biggest losers.
The broader NSE Nifty closed 0.05% lower at 11,841.55 after hitting 11,900 intraday, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was flat at 39,586.41.
Reliance Industries ended 1.6% lower, while Tech Mahindra shed 2.3%.
Makers of specialty chemicals in India have become the darling of investors this year. Analysts are proving harder to please.
A custom index of five stocks — Aarti Industries Ltd, Fine Organic Industries Ltd, Galaxy Surfactants, PI Industries Ltd and SRF Ltd — has risen 30% to a record as Indian manufacturers step in to meet shortages due to shutdowns in China.
In comparison, only 13 of 19 sector gauges compiled by the BSE Ltd are in the green, with an index of consumer appliances posting a year-to-date return of 25%.
The valuations reflect strong optimism but haven’t adequately factored in risks inherent to the chemicals industry, Rohan Gupta and Sneha Talreja, Mumbai-based analysts at Edelweiss Securities Ltd said in a report. The brokerage has a hold recommendation on all but one of the five stocks in the custom index; it has a buy rating on Galaxy.
Meanwhile the rupee strengthened for the fourth consecutive session yesterday to hit a fresh 11-week high tracking gains in Asian markets ahead of US-China trade talks at the G-20 summit
The rupee closed at 69.07 a dollar, a level last seen on April 11, up 0.11% from its previous close of 69.16. The Indian currency had opened at 69.27 a dollar.
The 10-year bond yield was at 6.899%, compared with Wednesday’s close of 6.933%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Traders are cautious before US President Donald Trump’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G-20 Summit. The US and China have tentatively agreed to a truce in their trade war ahead of the meeting between the two leaders on Saturday.
So far this year, the rupee has risen 0.88% against the greenback.
During the period, foreign investors bought $11.39bn in Indian equities and $1.27bn in the debt market.
Among Asian currencies, the Philippines peso was up 0.23%, Taiwan dollar 0.21%, China Offshore 0.13%, and Indonesian rupiah 0.13%. The Japanese yen was down 0.2%, Thai baht 0.06% and Hong Kong dollar 0.06%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against a basket of major currencies, was at 96.286, up 0.07% from its previous close of 96.214.