Benchmarks continue firm trade in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued their firm trade hovering near the highest point of the day in the late afternoon session on account of buying in front line blue chip counters.  The sentiments were on optimistic note as India’s industrial output grew at five-year high rate of 9.8% in October, a significant rebound from 3.84% growth recorded in September 2015 and a contraction of 2.7% in October last year. The sentiments also got some support after as per latest data released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), showed that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in services sector, which includes banking, insurance, outsourcing, R&D, courier and technology testing, has surged by 20% to $1.46 billion (Rs 9,404 crore) during April- September 2015 as compared to $1.22 billion in the same period last fiscal. Traders were seen piling position in Metal, IT and TECK stocks. In the scrip specific development, Omkar Speciality Chemicals (OSCL), which manufactures inorganic and organic intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), was trading firm on its plan to foray into the vitamins segment.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in red, while the European markets were trading on optimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above the psychological 7,650 and 25,100 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1517:944 while 196 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25171.98, up by 127.55 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 24867.73 and 25194.15. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.88%, while Small cap index up by 0.62%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.60%, IT up by 0.83%, TECK up by 0.73%, Power up by 0.72% and PSU up by 0.71%.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindalco up by 2.82%, Tata Steel up by 2.80%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.41%, Coal India up by 2.36% and Infosys up by 1.91%.

On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.59%, ONGC down by 1.04%, TCS down by 0.93%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.91% and Axis Bank down by 0.81% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Pesident Pranab Mukherjee has said that Political stability and several new initiatives taken by the government including Make in India, Digital India and Swachh Bharat, will help the country emerge as an attractive investment destination. He further stated that the country could achieve 8 per cent growth rate if it makes united efforts in this direction.

For better economic performance, he said that a re-energised manufacturing sector is crucial. Mukherjee while emphasizing on finding technological solutions said that there are various challenges and the country should think out of the box to handle country's problems. Besides, He added that India will have to bring 'technology, scientific applications and innovative approach' to solve the problems of the country.

Additionally, Mukherje said that a prolonged global economic slowdown had affected the growth performance of all major economies. Talking about the country’s export, President said that during the heydays of country's growth, exports grew over 20 percent and contributed substantially to the GDP. Though the exports have stagnated in the last three years, the import bill has also decreased, helping India to keep the current account deficit to manageable levels. He further highlighted that foreign exchange reserves at $353 billion as of October-end are also at comfortable levels, giving a cushion to meet any crisis.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7656.80, up by 46.35 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 7551.05 and 7663.95. There were 38 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone up by 4.67%, Hindalco up by 3.21%, Tata Steel up by 2.84%, Idea Cellular up by 2.39% and Coal India up by 2.21%.

On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.59%, Axis Bank down by 1.00%, ONGC down by 1.00%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.99% and Cairn India down by 0.96% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 decreased 347.06 points or 1.8% to 18,883.42, Hang Seng decreased 154.2 points or 0.72% to 21,309.85, Taiwan Weighted decreased 75.73 points or 0.93% to 8,040.16, Jakarta Composite decreased 23.21 points or 0.53% to 4,370.32, KOSPI Index decreased 20.8 points or 1.07% to 1,927.82 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 10.93 points or 0.67% to 1,629.21.

On the other hand, Shanghai Composite increased 86.09 points or 2.51% to 3,520.67.

The European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 43.43 points or 0.73% to 5,996.21, France’s CAC increased 33.02 points or 0.73% to 4,582.58 and Germany’s DAX increased 74.05 points or 0.72% to 10,414.11.