Benchmarks erase losses; trades in green

Indian equity benchmarks erased losses and are now trading in green hovering near the highest point of the day in the late afternoon session on account of buying in frontline blue chip stocks taking cues from global counterparts. Traders were seen piling up position in Realty, Capital Goods and Bankex stocks while selling was witnessed in Metal, FMCG and Consumer Durables sector stocks. Hectic buying activity was witnessed in realty stocks as Parliament readied to put its stamp of approval on the Real Estate Bill later in the day. Experts believe while the bill intends to improve transparency in the real estate sector, it is also likely to delay project launches in the near term. In scrip specific development, Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) was trading in red on reports that a group of foreign lenders are exploring the pros and cons of taking the extreme step of recalling loans adding up to $550 million from the company with the leveraged group failing to comply with loan covenants ahead of the repayment schedule that starts next month.

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 7,450 and 24,600 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 1123:1281, while 130 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 24668.67, up by 9.44 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 24451.60 and 24688.48. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green and red; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.39%, while Small cap index down by 0.22%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.55%, Capital Goods up by 1.01%, Bankex up by 0.80%, Power up by 0.59%, Auto up by 0.58% while, Metal down by 1.36%, FMCG down by 0.86%, Consumer Durables down by 0.81%, Oil & Gas down by 0.30%, PSU down by 0.19% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 2.35%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.74%, Asian Paints up by 1.37%, Axis Bank up by 1.29% and BHEL up by 1.18%. 

On the flip side, HDFC down by 1.92%, ITC down by 1.51%, Wipro down by 0.99%, Sun Pharma down by 0.90% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.76% were the top losers.

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 is currently trading at 7497.80, up by 12.50 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 7424.30 and 7502.60. There were 27 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 4.11%, Yes Bank up by 3.75%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.30%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.81% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.68%.

On the flip side, Vedanta down by 4.04%, Hindalco down by 3.55%, Cairn India down by 2.60%, BPCL down by 2.36% and HDFC down by 2.04% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 decreased 140.95 points or 0.84% to 16,642.20, Shanghai Composite decreased 38.83 points or 1.34% to 2,862.56, Taiwan Weighted decreased 30.2 points or 0.35% to 8,634.11, Jakarta Composite decreased 20.53 points or 0.42% to 4,811.04, Hang Seng decreased 15.32 points or 0.08% to 19,996.26 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 5.4 points or 0.32% to 1,682.46.

On the other hand, KOSPI Index increased 6.83 points or 0.35% to 1,952.95. Indonesia stock exchange was closed on account of ‘Hindu Saka New Year’ holiday.

The European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 22.88 points or 0.37% to 6,148.32, France’s CAC increased 31.43 points or 0.71% to 4,435.45 and Germany’s DAX increased 71.21 points or 0.73% to 9,764.03.