Benchmarks extend gains; Sensex above 25,400 mark

Indian equity benchmarks extended early gains to continue firm trade in late morning session, on account of sustained buying by investors amid mixed global cues. Besides, short-covering by speculators in view of March monthly expiry in the futures and options space also supported the upside. Sentiments got some support with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s atatement that Australian future and super funds be exposed to India, as he called for increase in investment by Australia businesses in India as they can get better returns on their investment. Appreciation in the rupee against the dollar too aided sentiments. Rising for the fifth day, Indian rupee appreciated by 6 paise to 66.31 against the US dollar in early trade on continued selling of the American currency by banks and exporters. Some support also came in from reports that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1442 crore on March 30, 2016. 

On the global front, Asia markets traded mixed on Thursday, after US stocks extended gains overnight following Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen's cautious stance on the path of tightening earlier this week. Sentiments got some support after the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing slightly stronger than expected US private sector job growth in the month of March. Meanwhile, oil futures dropped in Asian trade as concerns regarding global oversupply resurfaced after data indicated that US crude inventories jumped previous week to a record for the seventh time.

Back home, stocks from IT, Power and FMCG counters were supporting the markets’ uptrend, while those from Consumer Durables, Realty and Oil & Gas counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, shares of Adani Enterprises have surged after the company’s 100% subsidiary -- Adani Aero Defence Systems & Technologies has signed the statement of intent with Alpha Design Technologies to co-operate and work together in the field of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in India. Furthermore, Ahluwalia Contracts has gained after the company secured new orders aggregating to Rs 199.86 crore for construction of institutional building, including electrical, plumbing & firefighting services. 

The market breadth on the BSE was positive; there were 1182 shares on the gaining side against 785 shares on the losing side while 119 shares remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25438.06, up by 99.48 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 25341.47 and 25479.62. 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 0.25%, while Small cap index up by 0.48%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.26%, TECK up by 1.08%, Power up by 0.81%, FMCG up by 0.37%, Bankex up by 0.17%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.45%, Realty down by 0.06%, Oil & Gas down by 0.03% and  Metal down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 1.84%, Sun Pharma up by 1.53%, NTPC up by 1.46%, TCS up by 1.46% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.36%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 1.95%, GAIL India down by 1.49%, Tata Steel down by 1.19%, Asian Paints down by 1.18% and HDFC down by 1.05% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launching 'Make in India' campaign in its four day Australia visit has invited Australian businesses to “invest and make in India” and to be a part of India's growth story and said that the sectors like railways, defence and manufacturing now offer huge scope for foreign investments with liberalised FDI norms. He also listed out various reform measures undertaken by the Modi government in the last 22 months.

Jaitley further said that India has shown a great resilience despite global economic downturn. He added “For two consecutive years, we are the fastest growing economy in the world. When we measure ourselves by our own standards, we believe that 7.5 per cent does not reflect our true potential”. Finance Minister further said that India could manage to become a very low-cost service provider but failed to transform into a low-cost manufacturing and now there is an opportunity for the same. He said that Manufacturing must occupy a space and global investors must look at India.

However, he said that India faces three major challenges - it needs to boost exports in view of shrinking global trade, increase private investment and is hoping for a better monsoon this year after insufficient rains for two consecutive years.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7761.35, up by 26.15 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 7725.50 and 7777.60. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Power up by 3.27%, Infosys up by 1.81%, Sun Pharma up by 1.63%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.47% and BPCL up by 1.45%. On the flip side, Cairn India down by 2.27%, ONGC down by 2.11%, GAIL India down by 1.31%, Asian Paints down by 1.21% and HDFC down by 1.13% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng was down by 0.25%, Taiwan Weighted down by 0.44%, KOSPI Index down by 0.59% and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI down by 0.21%. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was up by 0.04%, Shanghai Composite up by 0.36% and Nikkei 225 was up by 0.02%.