Markets bounce back to trade in green again

The Indian markets that had picked up pace with the slump in the neighbouring Chinese market, has pared some gains with recovery in the Chinese index. There was some cautiousness too with global rating agency Fitch raising concern that though government's reform initiatives have unlocked Indian “economy's dynamism” but weak public finances continue to remain a strain on any rating upgrade. However, the markets bounced back in green supported by some optimistic comments from Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Arvind Subramanian, who has said that he does not see oil prices going beyond $80 to $85, a price which will help India manage its macro economy reasonably. Sensex was hovering near the 27800 mark, while Nifty was trading higher of its crucial psychological level of 8350. On the sectoral front, metal, capital goods and oil & gas were powering the markets, while consumer durable too has lost ground along with IT and technology stocks. The rupee weakness was unable to make any impact on the IT and tech stocks and they continue to trade soft since morning. The rupee after four days of gains was trading weak today due to the dollar’s gain against other currencies overseas.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27759.86, up by 29.65 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 27666.59 and 27882.66. 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 0.07%, while Small cap index was higher by 0.20%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.46%, Metal up by 1.37%, PSU up by 0.90%, Oil & Gas up by 0.79%, FMCG up by 0.24%, while IT down by 0.97%, TECK down by 0.74%, Consumer Durables down by 0.70% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Coal India up by 2.56%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.71%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.49%, Cipla up by 1.20% and ITC up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.21%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.64%, Lupin down by 1.55%, ICICI Bank down by 0.62% and NTPC down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government is going to set up a high-level committee to work out the modalities to enable a single-window clearance system in pharmaceuticals sector. Presently, while the issue of patents is dealt by Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), drug licence is given by Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) under Health Ministry and pricing is controlled by NPPA, under Pharmaceuticals Department.

The proposed committee will be headed by Pharmaceuticals Secretary V K Subburaj and the move follows a recommendation by the task force on enabling the private sector to lead the growth of the pharmaceuticals sector. The other members of the committee will include representatives from Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Commerce, Science and Technology, Bio-technology, Environment and Health and Family Welfare. While, the industry would be represented by Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA), Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA), Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association (BDMA), Association of Indian Medical Devices Industry (AIMED), CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM and others.

Chemicals and Fertiliser Minister Ananth Kumar stressing on the importance of having a single authority for clearance in the sector, has said that key decision-making powers on various important aspects such 'patents, licencing and pricing are with different departments' and this committee will suggest a mechanism for single-window clearance for the pharmaceuticals industry.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8366.70, up by 13.60 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 8334.95 and 8398.45. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were PNB up by 3.08%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.60%, Coal India up by 2.58%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.80% and BPCL up by 1.52%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.13%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.79%, Zee Entertainment down by 1.58%, Tata Power down by 1.48% and Lupin down by 1.32% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were mostly in green, Straits Times was up by 19.35 points or 0.58% to 3,334.48, KOSPI Index was up by 26.04 points or 1.27% to 2,081.20, Shanghai Composite was higher by 32.04 points or 0.72% to 4,510.40, Taiwan Weighted was higher by 49.37 points or 0.53% to 9,391.14, Hang Seng increased by 194 points or 0.72% to 27,274.85 and Nikkei 225 surged by 351.11 points or 1.72% to 20,779.30.

On the other hand, Jakarta Composite declined by 2.04 points or 0.04% to 4,957.21 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia was tad lower by 0.23 points or 0.01% to 1,732.53.