Benchmarks trade in fine fettle led by Realty and power

With a gap-up opening Indian equity markets have recovered most of their previous session losses, trading with gains of over half a percent, on the back of value buying and short covering at lower levels. Sentiments were up-beat with the statement of International Monetary Fund (IMF) that near-term growth prospects remain favourable in India but some macroeconomic imbalances still exist. Further, some support also came with chief economic adviser at the finance ministry Arvind Subramanian’s comments that the Indian economy is still expected to grow around 8 percent in the fiscal year to March 2016, after economic growth slowed to 7 percent in the quarter to June. At present, both Sensex and Nifty were trading above the crucial 25,600 and 7750 levels respectively. Apart from blue chips, broader indices too were equally participating in the rally with both mid cap and small cap indices trading up by 0.68% and 1.08% respectively. However, foreign institutional investors continue to remain net sellers in equities. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 1573.42 crore on September 2, 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Meanwhile, weak monsoon forecast too is likely to weigh on investors sentiment. India's June-September monsoon rains are likely to be below the prior forecast of 88 percent of the long-term average which could make it the driest year since 2009 and reduce farm output.

In the scrip specific development, VA Tech Wabag surged 6% on NSE after the company and its consortium partner Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd bagged a contract worth Rs 1,500 crore from Malaysia's national oil and gas company Petronas (Petroliam Nasional Berhad).

On the global front, US markets ended higher as a Federal Reserve report painted a more optimistic economic picture, soothing worries about the possible impact of the slowdown in China on the US. The Asian markets were trading in green following Wall Street rebounded from a sharp sell-off and as a holiday in China gave investors a break from its torrid markets.

Closer home, all the sectoral indices were trading in fine fettle led by Realty, Power and Capital Goods. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1211: 356 while 50 scrips remained unchanged. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25603.89, up by 150.33 points or 0.59% after trading in a range of 25555.77 and 25669.13. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.68%, while Small cap index gained 1.08%.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25603.89, up by 150.33 points or 0.59% after trading in a range of 25555.77 and 25669.13. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.68%, while Small cap index up by 1.08%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 3.75%, power up by 0.93%, Capital Goods up by 0.92%, Bankex up by 0.81% and Auto up by 0.75%, while there were no losers.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.84%, Tata Motors up by 1.44%, Wipro up by 1.22%, ITC up by 1.17% and Vedanta up by 1.17%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.33%, GAIL India down by 1.00%, Lupin down by 0.90% and Coal India down by 0.61% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its report ‘Global prospects and policy challenges’, meant for the G20 meeting of finance ministers in Ankara has stated that near-term growth prospects remain favourable in India but some macroeconomic imbalances still exist. The report highlighted that, while the faster-than-expected fall in inflation has created space for considering modest cuts in the nominal policy rate, medium-term inflationary pressures and upside risks to inflation remain.

The report said that in India, domestic demand is accelerating, underpinned by the large positive terms of trade shock (mostly due to collapsing commodity-import prices),' noting that the outlook for emerging economies has weakened in 2015 relative to last year. With balance sheet strains in the corporate and banking sectors, financial sector regulation in India should be enhanced, provisioning increased, and debt recovery strengthened.

IMF report has further stated that in India, the post-election recovery of confidence and lower oil prices offer an opportunity to pursue much-needed structural reforms. It added that in India, which is one of the world's largest commodity importers, growth will benefit from recent policy reforms, a consequent pickup in investment, and lower commodity prices.The report talking about other countries has said that global growth in the first half of 2015 was lower than in the second half of 2014, reflecting a further slowdown in emerging economies and a weaker recovery in advanced economies. China, growth is expected to decline as excesses in real estate, credit, and investment continue to unwind, with a further moderation in investment growth, especially residential real estate.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7769.25, up by 52.25 points or 0.68% after trading in a range of 7754.05 and 7785.20. There were 45 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Ambuja Cement up by 4.74%, ACC up by 2.19%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.12%, Tata Steel up by 2.00% and Tata Motors up by 1.80%. On the flip side, Idea Cellular down by 1.78%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.18%, Coal India down by 0.94%, Lupin down by 0.90% and GAIL India down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; KOSPI Index increased 3 points or 0.16% to 1,918.22, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 14.11 points or 0.89% to 1,604.30, Jakarta Composite increased 15.53 points or 0.35% to 4,416.82, Straits Times increased 24.86 points or 0.86% to 2,902.99, Taiwan Weighted increased 47.46 points or 0.59% to 8,082.75 and Nikkei 225 increased 312.26 points or 1.73% to 18,407.66

China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hnag Seng are closed today.