Sensex, Nifty, Midcap marginally higher; FMCG, infra stocks gain

Moneycontrol Bureau10:40 am Tata Communications up 4%: Liquid Telecom, a pan-African telecom group has entered into an agreement to acquire Neotel, a Tata Communications subsidiary in South Africa, for Rs 2,900 crore.Liquid Telecom will be partnering with Royal Bafokeng Holdings (RBH), a South African empowerment investment group, which has committed to take a 30 percent stake in Neotel.“Through a single access point, businesses across Africa will be able to access Liquid Africa’s 24,000km of cross-border, metro and access fibre networks. These currently span 12 countries from South Africa to Kenya, with further expansion planned,” the press release said.Certain regulatory approvals for the deal in South Africa are still awaited by the companies. 10:15 am FII View: Viktor Shvets of Macquarie says global impact of Brexit will be mostly felt in the 2nd-3rd derivatives, adding the key transmission mechanism is through volatilities focused on global debt, liquidity and deflationary outcomes, rather than direct trade or services.

He expects coordinated central bank action from the Bank of Japan, European Central Bank and Bank of England, with the Federal Reserve taking away tightening to reduce volatility, weaken Yen & avoid a strong US dollar.

In Asia ex-Japan, he maintains a preference towards commodity consumers over producers such as Indonesia and prefers countries that have some degree of fiscal and monetary independence and political stability.

Whilst there are no good choices, key overweights are India and the Philippines, says Shvets, adding he maintains slight overweights on Taiwan and China.

Also read - Gujarat Gas up 10% on gas distribution permission in Gujarat10:00 am Market Check

Equity benchmarks as well as broader markets were marginally higher amid consolidation in morning trade, especially ahead of expiry of June derivative contracts due on Thursday.

The Sensex rose 37.86 points to 26440.82 and the Nifty gained 12.30 points at 8107 while the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices advanced 0.3-0.6 percent. The market breadth remained positive as about 1242 shares advanced against 484 declining shares on Bombay Stock Exchange.

FMCG, infra, telecom, pharma and oil & gas stocks were trading higher while Tata Motors lost 2 percent. ICICI Bank, Wipro, TCS, Bajaj Auto and Tata Steel were down 0.2-0.8 percent.

L&T, Lupin, HUL and Bharti Airtel topped buying list on Sensex, up more than 1 percent.