Benchmarks continue to trade in green in late morning session

Indian bourses continued to trade in green in late morning session on increased buying by funds and retail investors amid mixed trend at other Asian markets. At present, Sensex and Nifty were trading above the crucial 28,600 and 8,650 levels respectively, with gains of over 0.30%. Meanwhile, the broader markets were seen outperforming the benchmark indices as the BSE mid-cap index advanced 0.80 per cent and the small-cap index jumped 1 per cent. Sentiment got a boost with a survey sponsored by RBI projecting the economic growth rate at 7.9 percent for the current fiscal, up from 7.5 percent in 2014-15. The forecasters expect real GVA to increase by 7.5 percent in 2014-15. Some support also came in from reports that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 144 crore on April 07, 2015. Meanwhile, NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya has said that the nothing has-changed-on the-ground sentiment remains though the economy is showing signs of turnaround. Panagariya also said that it will take some time before major results show up as there is a new government which came with a lot of promises.

On global front, Asian stock markets were exhibiting a mixed trend on Wednesday, tracking the weak cues overnight from Wall Street while higher iron ore and crude oil prices boosted resource stocks. Investors turned cautious ahead of the Bank of Japan's decision on its benchmark interest rate as well as the release of minutes of the most recent US Federal Reserve meeting later in the day. Back home, Indian rupee lost eight paise at 62.34 against the US dollar in early trade due to appreciation of the American currency overseas.

Back on street, all the sectoral indices were trading in the positive territory with BSE Realty index leading the rally up 2.29% followed by Consumer Durables, IT and FMCG indices trading higher over a percentage point. Furthermore, Auto shares firmed on hopes that reduction in interest rates on auto loans would drive sales growth.  In scrip specific development, Shares of Coal India surged after the coal ministry allowed the company to revert to the old system, removing the cap on e-auction volumes with effect from April 2015.  Further, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals rose after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) permitted the company to increase the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) investment limit from 35.07% to 49%.

The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2385 stocks traded, 1628 stocks advanced, while 666 stocks declined on the BSE. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28614.28, up by 97.69 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 28566.61 and 28687.39. 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 0.80%, while Small cap index up by 1.38%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.29%, Consumer Durables up by 1.46%, IT up by 1.16%, FMCG up by 1.07% and TECK up by 1.04%, while there were no losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Coal India up by 3.34%, Reliance Industries up by 1.85%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.82%, TCS up by 1.14% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.11%. On the flip side, Sesa Sterlite down by 1.82%, ONGC down by 1.63%, NTPC down by 1.41%, HDFC down by 1.03% and Sun Pharma Inds. down by 0.87% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Union cabinet has finally approved amendments to the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013, addressing the long-standing demand to bring in a regulator for the real estate sector. The bill originally moved by the previous government was restricted to residential real estate only but now with amended provisions it covers commercial projects as well. The Bill aims at restoring confidence of the general public in the real estate sector; by instituting transparency and accountability in real estate and housing transactions. This in turn will enable the sector to access capital and financial markets essential for its long term growth. The Bill will promote orderly growth through consequent efficient project execution, professionalism and standardisation,

The Bill contains provisions of registration of real estate projects and registration of agents with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority, functions and duties of promoters and allottees, establishment of Real Estate Regulatory Authority, establishment of fast track dispute resolution mechanism through adjudication, establishment of a Real Estate Appellate Tribunal, offences and penalties.

The bill is currently pending in Rajya Sabha and would be moved in Parliament in second half of the budget session. The government hopes that the bill would ensure mandatory disclosure by promoters to customers through registration of real estate projects as well as real estate agents with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority.

The present government has made some important changes to the original legislation brought by the UPA government. The earlier Bill had mandated that a developer put 70 per cent of the buyer's investment into an escrow account that would be used only for the construction of that project, which has been brought down to 50 per cent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8696.75, up by 36.45 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 8679.80 and 8716.30. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 4.32%, Coal India up by 3.36%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.99%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.47% and Reliance Industries up by 1.99%. On the flip side, Sesa Sterlite down by 2.05%, ONGC down by 1.90%, Idea Cellular down by 1.67%, NTPC down by 1.66% and Cairn India down by 1.27% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Shanghai Composite increased 0.29%, KOSPI Index gained 0.57%, Nikkei 225 added 0.7% and Hang Seng was up by 2.43%. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted decreased 0.69%, Jakarta Composite shed 0.46%, Straits Times dipped 0.15% and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 0.37%.