Benchmarks continue firm trade in afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued trading green in the afternoon session on account of buying in frontline blue chip counters amid a firm trend in Asian markets after the Bank of Japan decided to keep its deposit rate unchanged. The mood was up-beat 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. The gains in Consumer Durables, auto, Realty, Metal and Oil & Gas stocks provided support to the domestic markets.  In scrip specific development, Piramal Enterprises rose about a percent and Pfizer inched up half a percent after the Competition Commission of India approved the former's proposed acquisition of four brands from the latter.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green after the Bank of Japan decided to adopt a target for long-term interest rates in an overhaul of its massive stimulus program. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28665.95, up by 142.75 points or 0.50% after trading in a range of 28529.93 and 28689.36. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices too were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.47%, while Small cap index added 0.70%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.13%, Auto up by 0.86%, Realty up by 0.80%, Metal up by 0.76% and Oil & Gas up by 0.65%, while there were no losers on the BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Auto up by 2.54%, Tata Motors up by 1.17%, GAIL India up by 1.06%, Adani Ports &Special up by 1.05% and Hero MotoCorp up by 0.96%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 0.33%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.15%, SBI down by 0.10% and Coal India down by 0.06% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government has finally unveiled the next set of 27 cities for financing to be developed as smart cities under Centre’s 100 Smart City Mission. The 27 cities are from 12 states and were selected after three rounds of competition, with the total number of cities selected under Smart City Mission standing at 60.

Agra, Kanpur and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Amritsar and Jalandhar in Punjab are among the 27 cities selected under the Smart Cities Mission and each city will receive the Central assistance of Rs 200 crore in the first year and Rs 100 crore for next three financial years for improving their infrastructure.  For the development of these smart cities, the state government and respective urban local bodies will also contribute by providing fund under the Mission. The new 27 smart cities have proposed to invest worth Rs. 66,883 crore, including Rs. 42,524 crore under area-based development and Rs.11,379 crore for technology-based pan-city solutions.

The third list was announced after the latest round of the Smart City Challenge competition. Competition-based selection has made the cities rediscover themselves as they are undertaking a thorough assessment of gaps in the present levels of infrastructure and service delivery and come out with comprehensive, credible and actionable plans for area-based development and technology-based pan-city solutions. 

These smart cities would have facilities such as assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management systems, efficient urban mobility and public transportation, IT connectivity, and e-governance, among others. The government has proposed to develop 100 Smart Cities across India over the next three years and the next round of competition to select the remaining 40 cities would begin in January.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8817.75, up by 41.85 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 8778.40 and 8826.85. There were 44 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 3.23%, Bharti Infratel up by 2.58%, Eicher Motors up by 2.29%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.28% and Yes Bank up by 1.33%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 0.48%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.35%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.34%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.26% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.17% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 0.82 points or 0.05% to 1,656.60, Shanghai Composite was up by 2.16 points or 0.07% to 3,025.16, Jakarta Composite increased 5.07 points or 0.1% to 5,307.56, KOSPI Index rose 10.28 points or 0.51% to 2,035.99, Taiwan Weighted was up by 66.92 points or 0.73% to 9,228.50, Hang Seng increased 171.26 points or 0.73% to 23,702.12 and Nikkei 225 was up by 315.47 points or 1.91% to 16,807.62.