Benchmarks trade in fine fettle in noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks continue to trade in fine fettle in noon deals as investors opted to buy beaten down but fundamentally strong stocks ahead of industrial production (IIP) for March and consumer price index (CPI) for April data to be released later in the day. Retail inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) for April is estimated at 5.05 percent compared to 4.83 percent in March, while the industrial output, measured by index of industrial production (IIP) for March, is expected at 2.52 percent versus 2 percent in February.

On the global front, Asian shares fell on Thursday following a dismal day on Wall Street, while the dollar took a breather from this week's rebound and crude oil gave back some of its recent gains. Back home, banking stocks remained on buyers’ radar after the Rajya Sabha passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy code Bill, enabling a single law to deal with distressed companies, their promoters, creditors, employees and other stake holders for the first time in India. Telecom stocks too ringing loud in noon deals as the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down compensation policy for call drops levied by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25734.36, up by 137.34 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 25676.32 and 25827.03. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.58%, while Small cap index up by 0.88%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.87%, Bankex up by 1.03%, Consumer Durables up by 0.84%, Power up by 0.81% and IT up by 0.67%, while there were no losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 2.63%, Asian Paints up by 2.16%, Adani Ports &Special up by 1.84%, Tata Motors up by 1.55% and TCS up by 1.49%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.09%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.59%, Coal India down by 0.26%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.22% and Tata Steel down by 0.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India is willing to proceed with negotiations under India- European Union (EU) Broad based Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) and is awaiting confirmation from the EU side to resume the negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA). The free trade pact is aimed at reducing or significantly eliminating tariffs on goods, facilitating trade in services and boosting investments between the two sides.

The negotiations for the proposed BTIA have witnessed many hurdles with both sides having major differences on crucial issues. The talk was started in June 2007 and so far 16 rounds of negotiations have been held. Due to some outstanding issue, EU withdrew from the negotiations in 2013. The negotiations were expected in August, but they were deferred by India, expressing disappointment and concern over the EU banning sale of around 700 pharma products, clinically tested by GVK Biosciences.

India wants data security status, relaxations in movement of professionals, real market access in terms of sanitary and phytosanitary (norms related with plants and animals); and technical barriers to trade measures adopted in EU. While, EU wants tax reduction in wines and spirits and dairy products and a strong intellectual property regime; besides demanding significant duty cuts in automobiles.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7891.70, up by 42.85 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 7871.45 and 7916.05. There were 39 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ICICI Bank up by 2.72%, Asian Paints up by 2.24%, Adani Ports & Special up by 2.07%, Hindalco up by 1.64% and Tata Motors up by 1.63%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.11%, Aurobindo Pharma down by 0.93%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.67%, Zee Entertainment down by 0.61% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.33% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Hang Seng decreased 172.58 points or 0.86% to 19,882.71, Taiwan Weighted slipped 27.51 points or 0.34% to 8,108.05, Shanghai Composite dipped 7.42 points or 0.26% to 2,829.62 and KOSPI Index was down by 2.61 points or 0.13% to 1,977.49. On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 1.35 points or 0.08% to 1,645.93, Jakarta Composite gained 20.82 points or 0.43% to 4,820.79 and Nikkei 225 was up by 67.33 points or 0.41% to 16,646.34.