Post Session: Quick Review

Wednesday proved to be a handy day of trade for Indian equity benchmarks where frontline gauges wiped off  entire early losses to end not only with a gain of over half a percent but also regained their crucial 7,500 (Nifty) and 24,750 (Sensex) bastions, as traders went for bargain hunting amid firm European cues. Initially, markets traded in red lacking any major supportive cues. Traders remained cautious on faltering global growth after Chinese trade data showed exports falling for an eighth successive month.

Key gauges reversed momentum and entered into green terrain in last leg of trade as investors opted to buy beaten down but fundamentally strong stocks. Some support came with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s assertion that economic growth rate is expected to increase to 7.6 percent in 2015-16. He also said that the government has taken various initiatives to boost the growth of the economy, and industrial growth in particular. Traders also got some boost with Moody's Investors Service stating that the prolonged decline in oil prices and weaker expansion in Chinese economy have dimmed growth prospects of several economies, but it does not signal a threat of global recession. It said that the positive impact of lower commodity prices on global growth helps mitigate the negative effect from the financial market turbulence.

Firm opening in European counters too aided sentiments. CAC, DAX and FTSE were trading with a gain of around half a percentage point in early deals. However, Asian equity markets ended mostly in red as fresh concerns about global growth driven by weak Chinese trade data hit sentiment.

Closer home, appreciation in Indian rupee too aided sentiments. Erasing all the morning losses, Indian rupee was trading at 67.24 per dollar mark at the time of equity markets closing from its previous close of 67.35. Buying in banking counter aided sentiments, as the government has put its weight behind the ailing banks in their pursuit to recover as much money as possible from the corporate houses, which have been unable to meet their payment obligations. Finance minister Arun Jaitley has informed that Public sector banks’ (PSBs) bad loans increased by Rs 94,666 crore in first nine months of the current financial year. However, Metal counter reel under pressure on profit booking, as global commodity prices lost sheen.

The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty surged by around fifty points to end above the psychological 7,500 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex gained by over one hundred and thirty points to finish near its psychological 24,800 mark. Broader markets too traded with traction and ended the session in green terrain.

The market breadth remained in favor of advances, as there were 1,388 shares on the gaining side against 1,202 shares on the losing side while 127 shares remain unchanged. (Provisional)

The BSE Sensex ended at 24793.96, up by 134.73 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 24451.60 and 24820.76. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.94%, while Small cap index up by 0.04%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.63%, Realty up by 1.51%, Power up by 1.42%, Auto up by 1.25% and Bankex up by 0.85% while, Metal down by 0.80%, Consumer Durables down by 0.78% and FMCG down by 0.01%, were the few losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 4.00%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.16%, ONGC up by 1.58%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.58% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.50%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 1.40%, Coal India down by 0.63%, NTPC down by 0.59%, Adani Ports & Special down by 0.55% and Wipro down by 0.52% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal has said that the entire Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) framework needs to be reoriented in order to make it more investor-friendly. He also suggested that the penalty levied for delay in projects coming up in PPP model should not just be restricted to the private party. He said that the success of the PPP models rests on the commitment of both the partners, the government and the private sector, and penalty should be a two-sided affair in PPP model, as partnership means sharing the fruits of development and the losses.

Goyal said that one must not forget to address the delays in providing the utilities which are necessary for the success of any project. He said that if India has to develop at the kind of pace that it is expected and provide bare necessities to its people by 2022 then clearly the PPP model is unavoidable. He further said that the PPP model will be the engine of growth in infrastructure sector and together “we will have to evolve the right regulatory framework which should be simple and predictable.”

To fast-track implementation of infrastructure projects, Goyal said that it is very important to screen the projects before the bidding process. The Government of India is mulling bringing out policy amendments under which those possessing less than 80% of land would not be eligible for bidding. This would help filter the applications at the first stage and save time and energy in swift execution.

The CNX Nifty ended at 7531.80, up by 46.50 points or 0.62% after trading in a range of 7424.30 and 7539.00. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 4.09%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.41%, Maruti Suzuki up by 3.29%, Grasim Industries up by 2.91% and Bosch up by 2.82%. On the flip side, Vedanta down by 2.77%, BPCL down by 2.63%, Hindalco down by 2.47%, HDFC down by 1.55% and Adani Ports &Special down by 0.99% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 5.46 points or 0.09% to 6,130.90, France’s CAC gained 28.6 points or 0.65% to 4,432.62 and Germany’s DAX was up by 47.26 points or 0.49% to 9,740.08.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday, as weaker-than-expected trade figures from the world's second-biggest economy revived concerns about global growth. Japanese shares fell to a more than one-week low as a stronger yen continued to undermine sentiment and pressure exporters. Hong Kong stocks slipped, dragged down by resources and energy shares as a renewed tumble in commodity prices prompted investors to take profits from a recent rally. The overnight sharp slide in oil from recent lows also proved worrisome for investors although they showed some stability in Asian trade.