Markets continue to trade higher in tight band

Indian equity benchmarks were trading slightly in green in noon deals as traders opted to buy beaten down but fundamentally strong stocks after four days of continuous drubbing. Traders drew some sense of relief after rating agency India Ratings in a report said that the US Federal reserve's intention to hike rates in December was positive for markets and would remove uncertainty. Some support also came in with the Reserve Bank of India’s notification that non-resident Indians (NRIs) can opt to invest in the National Pension System (NPS), the move will help boost dollar inflows into the country. However, gains remained capped as investors remained on sidelines ahead of the announcement of earnings numbers by some blue-chip companies, including ICICI Bank and L&T.

On the global front, Asian markets were exhibiting mixed trend at this point of time. Japanese Nikkei edged higher by around a percent after Bank of Japan has kept the key rates unchanged. Back home, on the sectoral front, power, metal and realty witnessed the maximum gain in trade, while fast moving consumer goods, auto and software remained the top losers on the BSE sectoral space. The broader indices too were trading in fine fettle, while the market breadth on the BSE was positive; there were 1,262 shares on the gaining side against 1,035 shares on the losing side while 174 shares remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 26890.28, up by 52.14 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 26773.04 and 26942.29. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 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 0.21%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 2.07%, Metal up by 1.33%, Realty up by 1.07%, Healthcare up by 1.06% and PSU up by 0.96%, while FMCG down by 0.70%, Auto down by 0.37%, IT down by 0.29%, TECK down by 0.18% and Consumer Durables down by 0.11% were the losing top indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 5.67%, Hindalco up by 3.49%, Tata Steel up by 2.36%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.87% and Axis Bank up by 1.43%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.65%, ITC down by 1.64%, Vedanta down by 1.59%, ONGC down by 1.00% and Tata Motors down by 0.93% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, addressing the 3rd India -Africa Forum Summit, Prime Minister Modi has announced a concessional credit of $10 billion to Africa over the next five years. Modi said that this move will be in order to add strength to the partnership and will be in addition to the ongoing credit programme. India has committed $7.4 billion in concessional credit and $1.2 billion in grant to Africa since the first India-Africa Summit in 2008.

He also added that India will offer a grant assistance of $600 million which includes an India-Africa Development Fund of $100 million and a Health Fund of $10 million. Besides, he also pledged an assistance of 50,000 scholarships for African students in India over the next five years. And will support the expansion of the Pan Africa E-Network and institutions of skilling, training and learning across Africa.

Modi specifically called for stronger ties between the two countries in the strategic areas of counter-terrorism and climate change saying that “Closer defence and security cooperation, will be a key pillar of India-Africa partnership” and that India will intensify its cooperation against terrorism and rally the world to build a common cause against it. Modi assured 41 Heads of State and Government and hundreds of senior officials from 54 African countries that India will extend all possible assistance to them including in areas of defence, security, trade and infrastructure development.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8133.45, up by 21.70 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 8092.40 and 8146.10. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 5.51%, Hindalco up by 3.42%, Yes Bank up by 2.65%, Tata Steel up by 2.34% and Cairn India up by 2.08%. On the flip side, Vedanta down by 1.91%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.77%, ITC down by 1.76%, Tata Motors down by 0.98% and ONGC down by 0.92% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng decreased 113.65 points or 0.5% to 22,706.29, Taiwan Weighted shed 16.77 points or 0.2% to 8,554.31, Jakarta Composite slipped 7.41 points or 0.17% to 4,464.61 and KOSPI Index was down by 4.69 points or 0.23% to 2,029.47. On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 1.7 points or 0.1% to 1,668.68, Shanghai Composite rose 2.29 points or 0.07% to 3,389.61 and Nikkei 225 was up by 147.39 points or 0.78% to 19,083.10.