Benchmarks trim gains; trade continues in green

After getting a gap-up start, Indian equities trimmed some gains but continued to trade in vigor in late morning session on account of value-buying by investors in select blue-chips amid a recovery in Asian markets. Sentiments got a boost with India's infrastructure sectors clocking their highest growth in 16 months in March 2016, with the index for core industries climbing 6.4 per cent, against 5.7 per cent in February. Besides, the appreciation in rupee value against the dollar added to the optimistic sentiments. Indian rupee strengthened by 13 paise to 66.31 against the US dollar in early trade on selling of the American currency by exporters amid foreign fund inflows. Some support also came in from reports that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 435 crore on May 02, 2016.

On the global front, Asian stock markets were trading mixed in early trade as investors grew doubtful about global central banks' ability to boost growth through aggressive policy easing. However, rebound in the US equities has capped the downside. Some support also came with Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao said strong GDP expansion in some of the countries, including India, is expected to push up Asia's economic growth rate to 5.7 per cent in 2016. Meanwhile, China stocks gained more than a percent, as investors bet on improvements in corporate fundamentals, although thin trading after the holiday weekend suggests confidence remains fragile.

Back home, stocks from Capital Goods, Power and Realty counters were supporting the markets’ uptrend, while those from FMCG and Oil & Gas counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, shares of CCL Products have surged after the company reported a strong 70% year on year (YoY) jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 36.66 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 (Q4FY16), on the back of higher net sales and lower raw material cost. Furthermore, BGR Energy Systems has rallied after the company has executed agreement with Hitachi, Japan and Hitachi Power Europe GmbH (HPE), Germany to settle their disputes.

The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2239 stocks traded, 1434 stocks advanced, while 675 stocks declined on the BSE. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25595.26, up by 158.29 points or 0.62% after trading in a range of 25477.84 and 25705.96. 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 0.43%, while Small cap index up by 0.87%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.53%, Power up by 1.43%, Realty up by 1.30%, Auto up by 1.24% and Bankex up by 0.58%, while FMCG down by 0.20%, Oil & Gas down by 0.11% and IT down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 3.08%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.82%, Adani Ports &Special up by 2.65%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.40% and Asian Paints up by 2.35%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 1.03%, GAIL India down by 0.84%, Coal India down by 0.61%, Lupin down by 0.50% and Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.48% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, minister of State for Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India is committed to an early and balanced outcome of the European Union (EU) Broadbased Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) negotiations. EU BTIA negotiations are underway and 16 rounds of negotiations have been held so far, the minister has said that the government is committed to an early and balanced outcome of the negotiations. 

India-EU BTIA talks are related to trade in goods and services, sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, intellectual property rights, technical barriers to trade, dispute settlement, customs and trade facilitation and procurement among others.

Talking about Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of the World Trade Organization, she said it aims to expedite movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit and also sets out measures for effective cooperation between customers and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues. It further contains provisions for technical assistance and capacity building in that area.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7856.95, up by 51.05 points or 0.65% after trading in a range of 7820.95 and 7890.25. There were 36 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors - DVR up by 4.77% and Aurobindo Pharma up by 4.64% and Tata Power up by 4.13% and Tata Motors up by 2.96% and Bharti Airtel up by 2.96%. On the flip side, GAIL India down by 1.10%, Sun Pharma down by 1.07%, BPCL down by 0.78%, Ambuja Cement down by 0.71% and Coal India down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, KOSPI Index was up by 0.42%, Jakarta Composite up by 0.41%, Shanghai Composite up by 1.6%. On the flip side, Hang Seng was down by 0.99%, Taiwan Weighted down by 0.95% and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI down by 1.29%.