Benchmarks continue to trade in green in noon session

Benchmark equity indices were trading in green in afternoon session on account of buying in some frontline blue chip counters. Sentiments got some encouragement with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement that the government is ‘running against time’ for the implementation of GST, but added that he would certainly like to give it a try. He said the new GST, once implemented, would have a transformational impact by creating a common market in the country, while also acting as a transfer mechanism that would aid poorer states. However, investors remained cautious ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB)'s monetary policy decision later in the global day. Traders were seen piling up positions in Realty, Metal, Auto, Capital Goods FMCG stocks, while selling was witnessed in IT and TECK and Banking sector stocks. In scrip specific development, IDBI Bank rose over 1 percent after paring its stake in Credit Analysis and Research through open market transaction, while Ashok Leyland slid about a percent after it entered into an agreement to buy out Nissan Motor Co Ltd.’s stake in three joint ventures between the two companies.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed after China reported unexpectedly strong trade. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28954.97, up by 28.61 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 28854.56 and 29005.06. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.15%, while Small cap index was up by 0.54%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.20%, Metal up by 1.05%, Auto up by 0.74%, Capital Goods up by 0.73% and FMCG up by 0.70%, while IT down by 2.84%, TECK down by 2.11% and Bankex down by 0.27% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Auto up by 3.89%, Tata Steel up by 3.69%, Hero MotoCorp up by 3.36%, Sun Pharma Inds. up by 1.74% and ONGC up by 1.57%. On the flip side, TCS down by 5.73%, Infosys down by 2.09%, Wipro down by 2.08%, GAIL India down by 1.41% and Tata Motors down by 1.21% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, operationalizing the measures announced by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) recently, government’s think tanks NITI Aayog has said that government’s construction sector initiatives will likely release Rs 39,366 crore to contractors and concessionaires. The CCEA approved a slew of measures including faster resolution of disputes, release of 75% of contract value stuck in arbitration against bank guarantees and provided for a conciliation board comprising independent domain experts in new contracts, among others. 

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said that as per estimation 597 cases are presently under arbitration proceedings or pending before courts in respect of four major infrastructure CPSUs-NHAI, NTPC, NHPC and IOCL, involving claims worth Rs 52,488 crore. 75% of this amount that is Rs 39,366 crore is likely to be released to the contractors/concessionaires on furnishing the bank guarantees. He added that deliberations with major stakeholders revealed that 618 awards have been announced by the Arbitration Tribunals in respect of three CPSUs that is NHAI, ONGC and NHPC, out of which 158 have gone in favour the state- owned firms and 460 in favour of contractors.  The construction sector, which is one of the key contributors to economic activity accounting for about 8% of GDP, has been facing a number of problems, mainly arising from liquidity constraints caused on account of disputes raised by government agencies.  He said that these initiatives are expected to help in improving the liquidity of construction industry and will hopefully lead to faster completion of pending projects and also help banks to reduce their outstanding.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8922.80, up by 4.85 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 8896.00 and 8936.70. There were 32 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 3.93%, Tata Steel up by 3.71%, Hero MotoCorp up by 3.41%, Grasim Industries up by 2.85% and Bharti Infratel up by 2.71%. On the flip side, TCS down by 5.50%, Yes Bank down by 4.03%, BHEL down by 2.60%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.50% and HCL Tech. down by 2.15% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mixed, KOSPI Index increased 1.85 points or 0.09% to 2,063.73, Taiwan Weighted increased 3.82 points or 0.04% to 9,262.89 and Hang Seng increased 105.82 points or 0.45% to 23,847.63. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 decreased 53.67 points or 0.32% to 16,958.77, Shanghai Composite decreased 2.39 points or 0.08% to 3,089.54, Jakarta Composite decreased 2.31 points or 0.04% to 5,379.04 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 0.07 points or 0% to 1,689.50.