Benchmarks hover near highest point of the day

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 frontline blue chip counters. Equity benchmarks were higher with Nifty reclaiming 8800 level ahead of outcome of Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting later today. The sentiments were on optimistic note with global rating agency Moody’s statement that it could upgrade India’s rating in 1-2 years if it is convinced that reforms are tangible, though it has called the reform process slow and gradual with muted private investment and NPAs posing a challenge. It said that it has a positive outlook on India. Investors took note of economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das statement that the finance ministry has promised to look into some taxation issues raised by foreign investors, some of which may be addressed in the budget next year. Das added that foreign investors came up with a number of specific suggestions on process simplification as well as other issues and are looking at bigger opportunities for investing in Indian market. Traders were seen piling up positions in Realty, Consumer Durables and Auto sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Prestige Estates Projects was trading in green on plans to raise at least $300 million, around Rs 2,000 crore, by selling up to 40% stake in its rent-yielding commercial assets and has drawn interest from Canadian Pension Plan and GIC of Singapore. TeamLease Services was trading in green on acquisition of Bangalore-based IT staffing solutions firm.

On the global front, Asian shares were trading mostly in green with Japanese stocks rallied and the yen weakened in a volatile session after the Bank of Japan decided to adopt a target for long-term interest rates in an overhaul of its massive stimulus program. The BOJ maintained the 0.1 percent negative interest rate it applies to some of the excess reserves that financial institutions park with the central bank. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above the psychological 8,800 and 28,600 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1466:652, while 122 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28629.27, up by 106.07 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 28529.93 and 28649.53. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.44%, while Small cap index was up by 0.73%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.94%, Consumer Durables up by 0.80%, Auto up by 0.74%, Metal up by 0.68% and Power up by 0.66%.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Auto up by 2.35%, Tata Motors up by 1.02%, Tata Steel up by 1.01%, Adani Ports & Special Economic zone up by 0.98% and Hero MotoCorp up by 0.94%.

On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 0.42%, TCS down by 0.17%, ITC down by 0.14%, Coal India down by 0.12% and Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government has reviewed existing free trade agreements (FTAs) and their impact on domestic economy and employment generation. Though, the Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the review of FTAs is a continuous process, but it is considered important on the growing concerns that these agreements implemented by India with other nations may be benefiting more to its trading partners than the domestic industry.

The review meeting for FTAs was headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and various ministries including ministries of Commerce and Industry, Finance and Textiles, participated in the meeting to discuss findings of a parliamentary report on these pacts. During the meeting, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Arvind Subramanian gave a presentation on the working of FTAs and also highlighted the impact of FTAs on employment generation.  As part of the strategy to boost both exports of goods and services in the long run, the Commerce ministry is working on the three important pillars including exchange rate, visa regime and freight rates.

India has implemented free trade agreements with several countries including Japan, Korea and Singapore as well as the Asian group. It is also negotiating similar deals with several regions, including the European Union, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Free trade agreements have a major impact on trade and investment worldwide. In fact, they are responsible for shaping business relationships among companies across the globe.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8812.30, up by 36.40 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 8778.40 and 8815.80. There were 42 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Infratel up by 3.02%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.51%, Hindalco up by 2.40%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 1.86% and Eicher Motors up by 1.40%.

On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 0.87%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.73%, ICICI Bank down by 0.46%, Zee Entertainment down by 0.30% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.17% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 0.28 points or 0.02% to 1,656.06, KOSPI Index increased 8.67 points or 0.43% to 2,034.38, Taiwan Weighted increased 60 points or 0.65% to 9,221.58, Hang Seng increased 115.92 points or 0.49% to 23,646.78, Nikkei 225 increased 214.63 points or 1.3% to 16,706.78 and Shanghai Composite increased 0.02 points to 3,023.02.

On the other hand, Jakarta Composite decreased 0.92 points or 0.02% to 5,301.57.