Markets come off the day's high; Nifty above 7800 mark

The Indian markets despite coming off the highs of the day were managing to trade with good gains, on buying in select blue-chip stocks ahead of IIP data to be released later in the day amid mixed global cues. Despite the early optimism, investors remained wary about the sustainability as high amount of intra-day volatility continues to keep investors at bay. Also, traders would be taking a cautious stance ahead of Chinese industrial output, retail sales and investment data to be announced on Sunday, which will give a sense of whether the world's second-largest nation is continuing to lose momentum. Though the market has largely been reacting to global cues, domestic developments like the delay of the GST bill, a rise in monsoon rain deficiency and weaker growth in auto sales in August, among others, were weighing on investor sentiments. However, sentiments got some support with the statement of the group headed by Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, which is one of the subcommittees of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) that there was no immediate cause of worry for India from global economic developments and financial volatility, though it has urged to be vigilant.  At present, Sensex and Nifty were trading above the crucial 25,700 and 7,800 levels respectively, with gains of over 0.45 percent. Besides, the broader markets continue to outshine the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up over 0.80%.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors remained on the sidelines and refrained from any buying activity ahead of US Federal Reserve meet on interest rate. On Wall Street, major indices witnessed gains on Thursday, as the dollar steadied after facing pressure from a rallying yuan and US data offered no clarity on whether the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates next week. Back home, Indian rupee recovered 9 paise at 66.34 against the dollar in early trade on fresh selling of the US currency by exporters.

Back on street, barring Metal, all the other BSE sectoral indices were trading in the green. Good buying was seen in IT, Realty, Teck and FMCG stocks. In scrip specific development, shares of TVS Motor gained after the company signed a MoU with the Government of Tamil Nadu, whereby the company will invest Rs 350 crore in its existing two-wheeler and three-wheeler plants in Hosur during the next three years. Furthermore, Elder Pharmaceuticals has surged on reports that the company may sell its assets to clear debt.

The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2125 stocks traded, 1484 stocks advanced, while 557 stocks declined on the BSE. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25738.16, up by 115.99 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 25730.96 and 25875.96. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.85%, while Small cap index up by 1.17%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.26%, Realty up by 1.23%, TECK up by 1.02%, FMCG up by 0.88% and Consumer Durables up by 0.87%, while Metal down by 0.19% was the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Wipro up by 1.92%, SBI up by 1.89%, Infosys up by 1.82%, Axis Bank up by 1.33% and HDFC up by 1.14%. On the flip side, GAIL India down by 2.04%, BHEL down by 1.55%, Tata Steel down by 1.54%, Tata Motors down by 0.92% and Bajaj Auto down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India may be ranked better this year in the World Bank's 'Ease of Doing Business' report as the government has taken several steps in this direction such as having a timeline for clearance of applications, de-licensing the manufacturing of many defence products and introduction of e-Biz projects for single window clearance. Further, Sitharaman stated that the World Bank together with a professional agency could release the ranking of Indian states on 'ease of doing business' this week. Besides, she emphasized that most of the states have taken a series of steps to remove red-tapism and improve business environment and also said that “states can no longer be red-tape ridden states'.

Additionally, she highlighted that there exist huge opportunities in sectors such as health care, energy, automobile and defence for investments in northern states which have shown growth of about 7.7% during 2004 to 2014. The government is ensuring greater market access for Indian industry in the trade agreements which it is negotiating. The government has been making investments to improve infrastructure.

In the World Bank's 'Ease of Doing Business 2015' report India is ranked 142 among 189 nations. With the exception of two parameters (getting credit and protecting minority investors), India does not feature in the top 100 in the remaining parameters.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7823.80, up by 35.70 points or 0.46% after trading in a range of 7820.55 and 7864.85. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bank of Baroda up by 2.26%, SBI up by 1.93%, Asian Paints up by 1.86%, Infosys up by 1.83% and Wipro up by 1.79%. On the flip side, GAIL India down by 2.19%, BHEL down by 1.77%, Tata Steel down by 1.52%, Cairn India down by 1.39% and Tata Power down by 1.23% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 was up by 0.04%, Taiwan Weighted up by 0.27%, Jakarta Composite up by 0.75% and Hang Seng up by 0.86%. On the flip side, Straits Times was down by 1.37%, KOSPI Index down by 0.69%, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI down by 0.51% and Shanghai Composite down by 0.07%.