Benchmarks continue to trade in green in late morning session

After getting a gap-up start, Indian equities trimmed some gains but continued to trade in green in the late morning session on mild buying by funds and investors amid robust global trends coupled with positive domestic sentiments after the introduction of GST Bill in the Lok Sabha. Sentiment also got some support from a private survey which stated that India remains one of the most preferred investment destinations for global investors while domestic companies expect stable economic conditions in the near term. However, gains remained capped as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India’s services sector declined by 7.5% to $1.22 billion during the April-September period of the ongoing fiscal as compared to $1.32 billion during the first six months of the previous fiscal. Meanwhile, selling by foreign institutional investors continued unabated and they were net sellers in Indian equities worth Rs 668.85 crore on Friday, also weighed on the sentiment.

On global front, Asian markets mostly rose after the Fed's pledge not to rush to raise interest rates prompted investors to add risky assets ahead of the year-end holiday. Besides, a rise in the price of oil boosted energy stocks. Back home, Indian rupee recovered by 5 paise to 63.25 against the US dollar in early trade on fresh selling of the American currency by banks and exporters.

Some volatility is expected later in the session as traders will remain cautious in a truncated week ahead of the F&O expiry on Wednesday. On the sectoral front, stocks from FMCG, PSU and Power counters were supporting the markets’ uptrend, while those from IT and TECK counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, Shares of SpiceJet have soared over 17%, extending its Friday’s rally, on the reports that the company could see a change of management and get new funds. Furthermore, Videocon Industries has rallied after the company has decided to raise $45.216 million through issue of securities to LLIC Sarl on a private placement basis.

The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2148 stocks traded, 1234 stocks advanced, while 826 stocks declined on the BSE. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27421.74 up by 49.90 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 27509.59 and 27391.40. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.60%, while Small cap index gained 0.54%

.The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 1.28%, PSU up by 0.89%, Power up by 0.86%, Realty up by 0.68% and Infrastructure up by 0.60% while, IT down by 0.58% and TECK down by 0.43% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were GAIL India up by 2.28%, NTPC up by 2.03%, Coal India up by 1.54%, ITC up by 1.41% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.31%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.09%, ICICI Bank down by 0.83%, Reliance Industries down by 0.81%, Hindalco down by 0.76% and TCS down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India’s services sector has declined by 7.5% to $1.22 billion during the April-September period of the ongoing fiscal as compared to $1.32 billion during the first six months of the previous fiscal. Indian services sector, which includes banking, insurance, outsourcing, R&D, courier and technology testing, represents around 60% share of the country’s GDP. The other sectors that have recorded decline in foreign investment during the reported period include construction and metallurgical industries.

However, overall FDI during the April-September FY15 increased by 15% y-o-y to $14.47 billion from $12.59 billion recorded in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Country wise, maximum FDI during the reported period was received form Mauritius with $4.19 billion followed by Singapore ($2.41 billion), Netherlands ($1.97 billion), the US ($1.19 million), Japan ($937 million) and UK ($842 million). 

During FY14, FDI increased by 8% to $24.29 billion from $22.42 billion recorded in the FY13. India would require around $1 trillion in the 12th five year plan (2012-2017) to overhaul its infrastructure sector such as ports, airports and highways to boost growth. However, to attract maximum FDI into the country, the government has been liberalizing the foreign investment policy. Recently, the government has decided to raise FDI limit to 49% in the insurance sector from the current level of 26%.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8239.70 up by 14.50 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 8260.85 and 8229.50. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Jindal Steel & Power up by 3.50%, NMDC up by 3.09%, GAIL India up by 2.33%, NTPC up by 2.25% and Cairn India up by 2.08%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.19%, Infosys down by 0.96%, Reliance Industries down by 0.92%, Hindalco down by 0.89% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.72% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in the green; KOSPI Index rose 0.60%, Shanghai Composite gained 0.39%, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI surged 1.41%, Jakarta Composite was up by 0.06%, Straits Times increased 1.09%, Taiwan Weighted added 0.86% and Hang Seng was up by 1.17%. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was down by 0.14%.