Benchmarks pare some gains in late morning session

After starting the day on a firm note, Indian benchmark indices though have pared some gains in last hour of trade, are still trading in the green with marginal gains at this point of time. Sentiments got a boost with the report that the government said it had achieved the fiscal deficit target for the year, putting an end to speculation after February numbers came in on the high side and reinforcing the commitment to fiscal discipline ahead of the Reserve Bank of India monetary policy review scheduled for April 5. Investors also got some encouragement with India's latest monsoon forecasting model predicts good rainfall this year, which will end severe water shortage that is threatening power supply and cheer farmers who have been devastated by two consecutive droughts. Also, expressing hope that the Goods and Services Tax bill will be passed in the next half of the Budget session, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu said the tax regime will push up India's economy by 1.5 to 2 percentage points.

On the global front, Asian stock markets kicked off the week higher on Monday as investor sentiment was boosted by the U.S. monthly job report showing a sustained recovery in the labor market and a rebound in Chinese manufacturing activity. Further, US stocks rose on Friday, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.63 per cent to a three-month high, after a report showed that economic activity in the US manufacturing sector expanded in March for the first time in six months.  Back home, stocks from IT, Auto and Power counters were supporting the markets’ uptrend, while those from Realty, FMCG and Oil & Gas counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, Shares of Geometric have surged after HCL Technologies agreed to buy all of the business done by software firm, except a joint venture the latter has with Dassault Systèmes SA, in a share-swap deal valued at $190 million. Furthermore, MOIL has rallied after the company has increased the prices of various grades of manganese ore by up to 50% for the quarter April - June 2016 over previous quarter (January-March) prices.

The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2151 stocks traded, 1312 stocks advanced, while 738 stocks declined on the BSE.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25294.33, up by 24.69 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 25289.59 and 25419.19. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.21%, while Small cap index up by 0.35%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.17%, TECK up by 1.05%, Auto up by 0.69%, Power up by 0.58%, Consumer Durables up by 0.46% while, Realty down by 0.72%, FMCG down by 0.60%, Oil & Gas down by 0.41%, PSU down by 0.21%, Bankex down by 0.10% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 1.88%, Infosys up by 1.49%, Wipro up by 1.42%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.34% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.11%. On the flip side, ITC down by 1.76%, Lupin down by 1.49%, ONGC down by 1.27%, BHEL down by 0.77% and Coal India down by 0.73% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government has modified the gold monetisation scheme, in order to make it more attractive for potential depositors by allowing investors to redeem the deposits in gold also. This move is expected to attract temple trusts, many of which have significant amount of gold under their control.

Finance Ministry in its statement has notified that for redemption of the deposit in gold, an administrative charge of “0.2 per cent” of the notional redemption amount would be levied from the depositor in Indian rupees. For the gold deposited under Medium and Long Term Government Deposits (MLTGD), the redemption of principal at maturity shall, at the option of the depositor, be either in Indian Rupee equivalent of the value of deposited gold at the time of redemption or in gold. The interest accrued on the scheme would be calculated with reference to the value of gold in terms of Indian rupee at the time of deposit and would be paid only in cash.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year launched the Gold Monetisation Scheme to mobilise gold stashed with individuals, institutions and rich temples for recycling and to reduce imports. The scheme has garnered about three tonnes of gold in four months out of a national hoard of over 20,000 tonnes.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7725.55, up by 12.50 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 7722.80 and 7757.60. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Idea Cellular up by 2.66%, Tata Power up by 1.84%, Tata Motors up by 1.69%, Infosys up by 1.59% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.52%. On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 2.15%, ITC down by 1.70%, Lupin down by 1.37%, ONGC down by 1.34% and Bank of Baroda down by 0.95% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, KOSPI Index was up by 0.08%, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI up by 0.41% and Jakarta Composite was up by 0.2%. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was down by 0.25%.

Stock markets in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan were closed for Ching Ming Festival.