Benchmarks continue firm trade; Metal, Realty lead

Indian equity markets continued their firm trade in the late afternoon session on account of buying in frontline blue chip counters. The sentiment were on optimistic note after India’s main inflation gauge, based on monthly WPI, stood at 1.77% for the month of October as compared to 2.38% in the previous month and 7.24% during the corresponding month of the previous year. Global brokerage firm forecasted world economy and stated that India would have the fastest economic expansion among Asian countries and its gross domestic product is expected to grow by 6.3% in 2015, further added some thrust on the street. Traders were seen piling positions in Metal, Realty and PSU sector while selling was witnessed in Power sector stocks. In scrip specific development, DLF was trading in green after the company reported nine percent increase in consolidated net profit for the second quarter of this fiscal.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mixed while the European markets were trading mostly on optimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above the psychological 8,350 and 28,000 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1563:1309 while 102 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28001.22, up by 60.58 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 27912.90 and 28044.81. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 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 0.74%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.75%, Realty up by 1.91%, PSU up by 1.64%, Oil & Gas up by 1.14% and Auto up by 0.65% while, Power down by 0.04% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindalco up by 3.36%, Coal India up by 2.95%, GAIL India up by 2.80%, SBI up by 2.64% and Tata Steel up by 2.35%.

On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.71%, Cipla down by 2.51%, BHEL down by 1.94%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.49% and Tata Power down by 1.46% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, moving closer to end the log jam at WTO over the signing of Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), India and the US successfully resolved their differences on the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes. According to the agreement, the US will support India's proposal at WTO that 'peace clause', crucial for uninterrupted implementation of India's food security programme, should continue indefinitely till a permanent solution is found.

The agreement will enable India to continue procurement and stocking of foodgrain for distribution to poor under its food security programme without attracting any kind of action from WTO members even if it breaches the 10 per cent subsidy cap as prescribed by the multilateral trade body. The agreement comes two days ahead of the G-20 Summit in Australia, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other world leaders including the US President Barack Obama. WTO related matters are likely to come up during discussion between world leaders.

Earlier, in July 2014, India had made it clear to WTO that it would not agree to the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) unless there is a permanent solution on safeguards to run food security programmes. The WTO’s Ministerial Conference at Bali last December had provided for only a four-year “peace clause” during which no member country would be legally barred from implementing food security programmes even if the farm subsidies breached the caps imposed by the original Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). India had, however, rejected the temporary peace clause and insisted on its right to provide unlimited subsidies until a “permanent solution” to the issue was found. This stance attracted strong criticism, especially from developed countries including the US, the EU and Australia.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8373.30, up by 15.45 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 8346.80 and 8389.70. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Jindal Steel & Power up by 4.04% and Asian Paints up by 3.36% and Hindalco up by 3.36% and Coal India up by 3.07% and GAIL India up by 2.98%.

On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.75%, Cipla down by 2.38%, BHEL down by 2.04%, HDFC down by 1.69% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.62% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading on a mixed note; Taiwan Weighted increased 2.21 points or 0.02% to 8,982.88, Straits Times increased 5.99 points or 0.18% to 3,310.92, Hang Seng increased 67.44 points or 0.28% to 24,087.38 and Nikkei 225 increased 98.04 points or 0.56% to 17,490.83.

On the other hand, KOSPI Index decreased 15.37 points or 0.78% to 1,945.14, Jakarta Composite decreased 9.82 points or 0.19% to 5,038.84, Shanghai Composite decreased 6.78 points or 0.27% to 2,478.82 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 4.94 points or 0.27% to 1,810.87.

The European markets were trading mostly in green; Germany’s DAX increased 11.32 points or 0.12% to 9,259.83, France’s CAC increased 12.76 points or 0.3% to 4,200.71 while, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 7.68 points or 0.12% to 6,627.77.