Firm trade prevails in late morning session

Indian equity benchmarks continued their firm trade hovering near the highest point of the day in the late morning session, on account of buying in front line blue chip counters taking cues from global counter parts. The sentiments got a push after India Meteorological Department (IMD) stated that monsoon rains in India were 15 percent above average in the week ended August 10. The weather office has retained its forecast for an above-average monsoon this year, boosting hopes of a rise in farm output and income after two years of drought. Investors have started eyeing key macro data of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation slated to be released after the market hours. Traders were seen piling position in Metal, Auto and Capital Goods sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Aditya Birla group stocks, Grasim Industries and Aditya Birla Nuvo were trading under pressure after the boards of the two companies agreed to a $11 billion merger plan, which did not go down well with investors. SP Apparels, the maker of the Crocodile brand, made a decent debut on the bourses at a premium over the issue price of Rs 268. The issue, which was open for subscription between August 2 and August 4, was oversubscribed nearly three times.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, with traders shrugging off a deluge of economic data from China that missed expectations, focusing instead on record finishes in the US markets and a rebound in oil prices. Sentiment on oil received a leg up after comments from Saudi energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, appeared to lend more credibility to the idea that OPEC might consider taking action if oil prices remained low. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above the psychological 8,650 and 28,100 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1300:750, while 121 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28132.22, up by 272.62 points or 0.98% after trading in a range of 27900.91 and 28150.76. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.00%, while Small cap index was up by 0.66%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.52%, Auto up by 1.46%, Capital Goods up by 1.21%, FMCG up by 1.21% and Bankex up by 0.93%.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 2.81%, Axis Bank up by 2.64%, Tata Steel up by 2.08%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.79% and Reliance Industries up by 1.77%.

On the flip side, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.40%, Infosys down by 0.18% and Cipla down by 0.05% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, to ensure quicker road connectivity, the government will build 1,000 km of expressways under its National Highways Development Project (NHDP) programme, which include the Vadodara-Mumbai project.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that the central government has approved a plan for constructing 1,000 km of expressways under the NHDP phase VI at a cost of Rs 16,680 crore on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis. Gadkari also said that the main criteria for selection of Expressway corridors will be the traffic volume.  The 400km Vadodara-Mumbai Corridor, which has the highest density, has been accorded top priority and considered for a feasibility study. 

The government has also decided that remaining 600km will be selected from the routes identified on the basis of traffic volume. The high density corridors approved under NHDP Phase-VI includes Vadodara-Mumbai stretch (400 km) in Gujarat and Maharashtra, Delhi-Meerut (66 km) on NH 58 in Delhi/UP and Bengaluru-Chennai (334 km) on NH 4 in Karnataka-Tamil Nadu.

He further said that out of 66 km length of Delhi-Meerut Expressway, 30.63 km has already been awarded in 2 packages and contract agreement is executed. In addition, the government has approved to take up one more expressway namely Eastern Peripheral Expressway for a length of 135 km in 6 packages. He added that all these express highways are going to be world class matching the quality and specifications in advanced nations and once completed would result in huge savings in fuel cost.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8669.30, up by 77.15 points or 0.90% after trading in a range of 8604.45 and 8675.20. There were 43 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 3.55%, Yes Bank up by 2.79%, Tata Motors up by 2.72%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 2.46% and Axis Bank up by 2.34%.

On the flip side, Grasim Industries down by 1.37%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.02%, Bosch down by 1.01%, BPCL down by 0.93% and Idea Cellular down by 0.63% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in green; KOSPI Index increased 0.52 points or 0.03% to 2,049.32, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 3.7 points or 0.22% to 1,682.50, Shanghai Composite increased 7.07 points or 0.24% to 3,009.71, Taiwan Weighted increased 16.19 points or 0.18% to 9,148.02, Hang Seng increased 168.26 points or 0.75% to 22,748.81 and Nikkei 225 increased 206.1 points or 1.23% to 16,941.22.

On the other hand, Jakarta Composite decreased 0.65 points or 0.01% to 5,418.43.