Benchmarks continue to trade in narrow range with positive bias

Indian equity benchmarks paired some early gains and were trading in a narrow range with a positive bias in late morning session, on continued buying activities by both funds and retail investors. Sentiment on the street improved on positive IIP data as the country’s industrial production grew at a 5-month high of 3.8 per cent in November due to improvement in manufacturing and mining sectors as well as better offtake of capital goods. Some support also came in from reports that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 245 crore on January 12, 2015. However, gains remained capped as the retail inflation rose to five per cent in December from 4.38 per cent in the previous month, primarily due to a rise in food prices.

On global front, Asian stocks held higher after Chinese trade data minimized risk concerns generated by a continuing slide in crude oil prices. However, US markets overnight closed lower for the second straight session dragged the losses in energy shares which declined as global crude prices slumped by another 5% on global supply glut and Goldman Sachs providing weak outlook for the sector. Back home, Indian rupee gained 12 paise at 62.04 against the dollar in early trade on increased selling of the U.S. currency by exporters and banks amid higher opening of domestic equities.

Back on street, stocks from Consumer Durables, FMCG and Banking counters were supporting the markets’ uptrend, while those from Oil & Gas, Realty and IT counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, shares of Crompton Greaves surged after the company has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with French enterprise Arelis that specialises in design and manufacturing of high-tech electronic solutions. Moreover, Asian Paints rose as oil fell 5% to its lowest in nearly six years on Monday.

The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2327 stocks traded, 1428 stocks advanced, while 815 stocks declined on the BSE.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27597.37, up by 12.10 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 27554.77 and 27670.19. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.61%, while Small cap index up by 0.58%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.18%, FMCG up by 0.74%, Bankex up by 0.58%, Metal up by 0.43% and Capital Goods up by 0.32% while, Oil & Gas down by 0.70%, Realty down by 0.52%, IT down by 0.18% and TECK down by 0.03% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Cipla up by 1.71%, BHEL up by 1.53%, Axis Bank up by 1.46%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.87% and SBI up by 0.80%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 2.21%, Infosys down by 1.16%, Tata Motors down by 0.87%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.72% and Reliance Industries down by 0.65% were the top losers..

Meanwhile, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in its latest economic report has highlighted that Indian economic growth is firming up. The Composite leading indicator (CLI), designed to anticipate turning points in economic activity relative to trend, for India inched up to 99.5 in November from 99.3 in October. Showing positive signs, the CLI for India has been witnessing a rising trend over past few months, indicating that economic growth is gaining momentum.

The CLI points to stable growth momentum for the OECD area, a group of 33 major countries and 6 major non-member economies, with diverging patterns across most major economies. Stable growth momentum is anticipated for the United States, Canada, China, France and Brazil. The CLIs for China stood at 99.3 in November as compared to 99.2 in the previous month.

On the other hand, the CLIs indicate a loss of growth momentum in Germany, Italy and Russia. In the United Kingdom the CLI also points to growth easing, though from relatively high levels and for Japan, the indicator points to positive and firming changes in growth momentum.

Earlier, in November, the OECD projected an average Indian economic growth at 6.7 percent over the 2015-19 period and highlighted that a further boost to economy would depend on reform plans of the government. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8337.50, up by 14.50 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 8321.85 and 8356.30. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 3.83%, Jindal Steel & Power up by 3.15%, Indusind Bank up by 2.10%, Cipla up by 1.74% and Bank of Baroda up by 1.56%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 2.23%, DLF down by 1.39%, Infosys down by 1.31%, Cairn India down by 1.00% and Tata Motors down by 0.85% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in the green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 0.39%, Shanghai Composite rose 0.26%, Jakarta Composite gained 0.32%, Hang Seng surged 0.53% and Taiwan Weighted was up by 0.65%. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 decreased 1.54%, Straits Times slipped 0.19% and KOSPI Index was down by 0.47%.