Benchmarks trim gains; trade continues in green

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed minor gains but continue to trade in green in the late afternoon session on account of buying in frontline blue chip counters. The sentiments were on upbeat mood as after missing target in the last financial year, the government exuded confidence that tax collection during the current fiscal would exceed budget estimate of Rs 13.64 lakh crore. Traders were seen piling up positions in FMCG, Oil & Gas and Bankex while selling was witnessed in Realty, Power and India Infrastructure Index sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Reliance Infrastructure was trading firm after its April-June quarter consolidated net profit grew 10.25% on yearly basis to Rs 457.6 crore helped by other income despite decline in revenue and increase in finance cost.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in red, while the European markets too traded on pessimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above their psychological 7,650 and 25,700 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1673:1152 while 99 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25753.87, up by 112.31 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 25861.15 and 25696.29. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index. The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.64%, while Small cap index up by 1.03%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 1.09%, Oil & Gas up by 0.88%, Bankex up by 0.45%, Consumer Durables up by 0.36% and HealthCare up by 0.17% while, Realty down by 0.81%, Power down by 0.35%, India Infrastructure Index down 0.25%, IT down by 0.22% and PSU down by 0.17% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 2.52%, HDFC up by 2.39%, ITC up by 1.57%, Axis Bank up by 1.24% and ICICI Bank up by 0.93%. On the flip side, Tata Power down by 1.51%, Gail India down by 1.29%, Infosys down by 1.25%, SSLT down by 0.84% and NTPC down by 0.83% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India and China are likely to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in Railways during the forthcoming visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in September 2014. China had already sent an advance team for cooperation in the construction and overhaul of the existing railway system across India.

The 22-member high-powered Chinese delegation headed by deputy administrator of National Railway Administration Zheng Jian also held a first round of consultations with the top brass of Central Railway. During the meeting, the issues like raising speed of trains on existing routes, training of heavy haul transportation and station development under strategic economic dialogue were discussed. China has built up a whole national network of bullet trains which run at a speed of 300 km per hour. If the MoU is signed between both countries, China will provide competitive equipment and technology to India for developing the bullet train network in the country.

The government during budget 2014-15 has announced an ambitious plan to have a Diamond Quadrilateral Network of high-speed rail connecting major metros and growth centres, besides setting up world-class stations among others. The Rail Budget also proposed to increase the speed of existing trains in select sectors up to 200 km per hour. Indian Railways is an important sector for India and has the potential to raise India's economic growth by over one percent. Therefore, it has become imperative to modernise, strengthen and expand the Indian railway network. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7691.05, up by 27.15 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 7722.10 and 7676.25. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Reliance Industries up by 2.43%, HDFC up by 2.23%, IndusInd Bank up by 2.19%, ACC up by 1.77% and Asian Paints up by 1.74%. On the flip side, DLF down by 2.38%, Tata Power down by 1.56%, Infosys down by 1.40%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.31% and GAIL India down by 1.26% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 declined by 1.01%; Hang Seng shed 0.29%; Shanghai Composite slid 0.22% FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dropped 0.20% and KOSPI Index inching lower by 0.05%.

On the flip side, Straits Times up 0.06%; Jakarta Composite added 0.67% and Taiwan Weighted advanced 0.43%. Japan’s Stock Exchange was closed today on account of ‘Japan - Marine Day’ holiday.

The European markets were trading in red; Germany’s DAX was down by 1.05%, France’s CAC 40 lost 0.65% while, UK’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.41%.