Markets manages to hold in green in early noon session

Indian equity benchmarks continue to trade in fine fettle in the early noon session led by gains in frontline blue chip stocks such as Reliance industries, Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma among others. Sentiment got boost with report that the government is likely to go for a fresh round of consultations on Goods and Service Tax with the Opposition parties after the Bihar elections. Parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu has said that further discussions with the Opposition on passing the bill will be held during the Winter Session of Parliament.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red along with US equity-index futures and commodities, while Treasuries fluctuated after China reported the slower economic growth since 2009. Back home, both sensex and Nifty were trading above crucial 27,200 and 8,200 levels, respectively. In scrip specific development, share of Infosys was trading up by 1.27% after the company announced a definitive agreement to acquire Noah, Consulting LLC and a leading provider of advanced information management consulting services for the oil and gas industry. The acquisition was an all-cash deal, with an aggregate purchase consideration of $70 million. National Buildings Construction Corporation was trading higher after the company has won a project of civil works for estimated amount of Rs 126.33 crore.

The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2474 stocks traded, 1395 stocks advanced, while 943 stocks declined on the BSE.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27276.83, up by 62.23 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 27246.79 and 27334.87. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.20%, while Small cap index gained 0.43%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.03%, Realty up by 0.89%, TECK up by 0.62%, IT up by 0.49% and FMCG up by 0.41%, while Metal down by 0.74%, Power down by 0.60%, Capital Goods down by 0.57%, Auto down by 0.50%, Bankex down by 0.46% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 4.36%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.53%, Sun Pharma Inds. up by 1.77%, Infosys up by 1.62% and Cipla up by 0.95%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.25%, Tata Steel down by 1.70%, ONGC down by 1.44%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.97% and ICICI Bank down by 0.93% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, trade ministers from several African nations will converge in India for the India Africa Trade Ministers Meeting (IATMM), so as to boost the trade relationships and fast track regional agreements. The fourth India-Africa trade ministers’ meeting will be held on 23 October prior to the India Africa Forum summit scheduled for 26-30 October. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is organizing the 4th IATMM, which hopes to see the participation from across the African continent. Commerce Ministry said that the move will provide an opportunity to India to take stock of the countries trade relation and also explore the possibilities of taking India’s engagements to the next level.

The aspects which will be discussed during the meetings are stronger trade ties, particularly in oil and gas sector, strengthening maritime cooperation and lifting the overall engagement to a new high. A number of African countries, including Tanzania, Sudan, Mozambique, Kenya and Uganda, have huge oil and gas reserves and India wants to invest in the sector to fuel its economic growth. Other major focus will be having a solid partnership in exploiting the blue economy where blue economy is marine-based economic development that results in overall improvement in human well-being and social equity.

Trade ministers of 53 countries have been extended invitations to participate in the 4th IATMM, along with the Commissioner for Trade and Industry, African Union Commission, and Secretary Generals/Heads of 8 Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa which includes Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

At present India’s trade with Africa stands at $75 billion and it has granted some $7.4 billion for various developmental and capacity building projects in the past four years where India has implemented a total of 137 projects in 41 African countries. India Africa submit will see participation of over 400 business delegates from Africa besides all major Indian chambers of commerce. Representatives from 54 African nations, including heads of state of some 40 countries, and the powerful African Union are expected to participate in the four-day summit beginning October 26.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8244.65, up by 6.50 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 8239.20 and 8264.95. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Reliance Industries up by 4.40%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.65%, Sun Pharma up by 1.77%, Infosys up by 1.54% and BPCL up by 1.01%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.24%, Tata Steel down by 1.86%, Adani Ports &Special down by 1.84%, Bank of Baroda down by 1.74% and Tech Mahindra down by 1.64% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 decreased 148.13 points or 0.81% to 18,143.67, Hang Seng decreased 106.77 points or 0.46% to 22,960.60, Shanghai Composite decreased 5.91 points or 0.17% to 3,385.44 andKOSPI Index decreased 3.73 points or 0.18% to 2,026.53, while FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 2.09 points or 0.12% to 1,718.91, Taiwan Weighted increased 26.55 points or 0.31% to 8,631.50 and Jakarta Composite increased 33.29 points or 0.74% to 4,555.17.