Benchmarks continue firm trade in noon session

Indian equity benchmarks continued their firm trade in the noon session with investors accumulating front line counters on firm Asian cues, after data showing US services sector activity rebounded to an 11-month high in September, an encouraging sign for economic growth. Sentiments remained up-beat since morning as the RBI Governor Urjit Patel signaled a marked departure in policy approach from his predecessor’s unwavering focus on price stability. He said that the NPA situation is an important issue for the RBI in India. We will be dealing with it with firmness but also with pragmatism so that the economy does not feel any lack of credit. Some support also came in from report that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 243 crore on October 05, 2016. However, gains remained capped with the India Meteorological Department's statement that monsoon into October has led to crop damage in many areas. Also, India's service activity lost steam in September after touching a three year high last month. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index was down to 52.0 in September from August’s 43-month high of 54.7, the latest reading pointed to a slower rate of expansion that was moderate overall.

On the global front, most of the Asian markets were mostly trading in green on Thursday as a healthy US economic report and rising oil prices overnight bolstered investor optimism. September ISM non-manufacturing came in stronger than expected at 57.1. Factory orders also increased slightly in August, while the trade deficit in the US widened more than expected in August and mortgage applications increased 2.9% last week. However, gains are muted in most regional markets as traders turned cautious ahead of the crucial US jobs data on Friday. Further, Japan's Nikkei share average rose as a weaker yen boosted investors' risk appetite.

Back home, stocks from Oil & Gas, PSU and Capital Goods counters featuring in the list of the ‘best performers’ enhanced the gains of the bourses, while stocks from information technology (IT) and banking counters remained the crack on the wall. In scrip specific development, Transformers and Rectifiers India (TRIL) has rallied after the company said it entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with Chinese firm Jiangsu Jingke Smart Electric Company (Jingke). Moreover, ONGC jumped after the company’s overseas arm received approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs to acquire 11% stake in Russia’s Vankor oil fields for $930 million.

The market breadth remained optimistic as there were 1617 shares on the gaining side against 842 shares on the losing side, while 114 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28296.21, up by 75.23 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 28238.09 and 28326.73. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.54%, while Small cap index up by 0.61%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 3.77%, PSU up by 1.44%, Capital Goods up by 0.65%, Power up by 0.58%, Consumer Durables up by 0.54%, while IT down by 0.53%, TECK down by 0.40%, Bankex down by 0.03% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were GAIL India up by 4.08%, Reliance Industries up by 2.63%, ONGC up by 2.34%, Asian Paints up by 0.98% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.77%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 1.03%, Infosys down by 0.85%, Tata Steel down by 0.60%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.42% and Cipla down by 0.39% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet has given its approval for the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and African-Asian Rural Development Organisation (AARDO) for capacity building programmes in the field of rural development.

Under the MoU for the triennium 2015-2017 capacity building programmes for AARDO member countries will be organized every year at various institutions such as National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRD & PR), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) among others.

The duration of each training programme will be of two to three weeks. The Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Development Management Course at NIRD & PR under this scheme is for one year.

AARDO currently has 31 countries of the African-Asian region under its fold. India is one of the Founder Members of the Organization and is the largest contributor in terms of membership contribution of $ 141,100 apart from contributing by way of providing 70 fully paid training scholarships for Human Resource Development Programme under the Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) to the Organization.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8769.45, up by 25.50 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 8741.35 and 8774.80. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index, while one stock remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 4.92%, GAIL India up by 4.26%, Reliance Industries up by 2.60%, Bosch up by 2.53% and Aurobindo Pharma up by 2.26%. On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 1.84%, Axis Bank down by 1.02%, Infosys down by 0.84%, Tata Steel down by 0.74% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.71% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.23%, Taiwan Weighted increased 0.13%, KOSPI Index gained 0.56%, Nikkei 225 jumped 0.54% and Hang Seng was up by 0.52%. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite decreased 0.12%.