Benchmarks continue firm trade in late morning session

Indian equity markets continued their firm trade in late morning session on account of buying in frontline blue chip counters. The sentiments were on optimistic note after chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian’s stated that the central bank may further ease the interest rates as improvement on price front has opened the space for monetary easing. The sentiments also got some support on reports that overseas investors have pumped in a staggering over Rs 21,000 crore in Indian capital markets since the beginning of the month owing to easing inflation and rate cut by Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Traders were seen piling positions in Capital Goods, Consumer Durables and Realty stocks while selling was witnessed in IT, Metal and TECK sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Max India was trading firm after touching fresh 52-week high ahead of the board meeting scheduled for today to review and approve the corporate restructuring plan for the company.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in green. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above the psychological 8,800 and 29,300 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1266:1066 while 108 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 29347.31, up by 68.47 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 29298.59 and 29456.63. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.79%, while Small cap index up by 0.71%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.82%, Consumer Durables up by 1.35%, Realty up by 1.06%, Power up by 0.85% and Bankex up by 0.57% while, IT down by 1.31%, Metal down by 1.09%, TECK down by 0.94%, PSU down by 0.58% and Oil & Gas down by 0.47% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 2.46%, Tata Motors up by 2.13%, Cipla up by 2.10%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.09% and ICICI Bank up by 1.90%.

On the flip side, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 4.06%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.85%, Coal India down by 2.82%, Infosys down by 2.67% and Hindalco down by 2.38% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in a measure to bolster trade with India, US President Barack Obama pledged for investments and loans worth $4 billion by American agencies.  World’s largest economy’s president at the India-US business summit assured that while US Export-Import Bank would be committing up to $1 billion in financing made in American exports to India, US Trade and Development Agency will aim to leverage nearly $2 billion investments in renewable energy in India.

The visiting US President also unveiled that Overseas Private Investment Corporation would support lending worth about $1 billion to small and medium businesses across India in under-served rural and urban markets.

Further, stressing that India and the US of being true global partners, Obama highlighted that the economies of two nations could grow and prosper together and establish a set of global norms in terms of how business could function, which would not just benefit the respective two countries but also the people around the world.

Obama, who is in the middle of a three-day visit to India, hailed the new change in tone at the top of India Inc but at the same time highlighted there were still 'too many obstacles' for businesses wanting to break into the vast market. The president called for consistency and simplicity in regulatory and tax environment in India.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8847.70, up by 12.10 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 8825.85 and 8878.20. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 3.44%, Axis Bank up by 2.42%, Tata Motors up by 2.00%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.96% and Cipla up by 1.86%.

On the flip side, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 4.41%, Coal India down by 3.14%, Cairn India down by 3.06%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.87% and Ambuja Cement down by 2.77% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 0.77 points or 0.04% to 1,797.21, KOSPI Index increased 12.89 points or 0.67% to 1,948.57, Straits Times increased 20.38 points or 0.6% to 3,418.90, Taiwan Weighted increased 43.92 points or 0.46% to 9,521.59 and Nikkei 225 increased 263.67 points or 1.51% to 17,732.19.

On the other hand, Hang Seng decreased 205.87 points or 0.83% to 24,704.03, Shanghai Composite decreased 74.7 points or 2.21% to 3,308.48 and Jakarta Composite decreased 6.12 points or 0.12% to 5,253.90.