Markets continue to trade in positive territory

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in positive territory in the noon session, tracking firm global cues after data showed US services sector activity rebounded to an 11-month high in September. Sentiments got some encouragement with the RBI Governor Urjit Patel signaling a marked departure in policy approach from his predecessor’s unwavering focus on price stability. Further, the gains in Oil & Gas, PSU, Power, Metal and Capital Goods stocks provided support to the domestic equity benchmarks. However, depreciation in rupee value against dollar weighed on the sentiments. In scrip specific development, Reliance Infrastructure rose half a percent after it agreed to sell its power assets to Adani Transmission, while Bank of Maharashtra, Bank of India, PNB and Syndicate Bank edged down marginally after revising their lending rates.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as a healthy U.S. economic report and rising oil prices overnight bolstered investor optimism. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28292.39, up by 71.41 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 28238.09 and 28326.73. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.58%, while Small cap index was up by 0.55%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 3.91%, PSU up by 1.52%, Power up by 0.73%, Metal up by 0.63% and Capital Goods up by 0.55%, while IT down by 0.72%, TECK down by 0.57% and Bankex down by 0.04% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were GAIL India up by 4.49%, Reliance Industries up by 2.88%, ONGC up by 1.87%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.23% and Asian Paints up by 0.79%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.21%, Axis Bank down by 0.97%, ICICI Bank down by 0.84%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.42% and Cipla down by 0.38% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an overall objective of deepening bond markets, the Finance Ministry has set up a Public Debt Management Cell (PDMC) to rationalize government borrowings and better cash management. The PDMC which will be initially housed at the RBI’s Delhi office will be upgraded to a statutory Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) in about two years.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that in February 2015 Budget speech he had proposed to set up a PDMA to deepen Indian Bond market and now “I intend to begin this process this year by setting up a PDMA which will bring both India’s external borrowings and domestic debt under one roof.”

The PDMC which will be converted into PDMA within two years will allow separation of debt management functions from RBI to PDMA in a gradual and seamless manner, without causing market disruptions. The PDMC will have only advisory functions to avoid conflict with statutory functions of the RBI. Besides, it will plan government borrowings, including market borrowings and domestic borrowing activities like issuance of Sovereign Gold Bond. Also, it will manage government’s liabilities, monitor cash balances, improve cash forecasting, foster a liquid and efficient market for government securities along with advising government on matters related to investment, capital market operations and administration of interest rates on small savings, among others.

Furthermore, PDMC will develop an Integrated Debt Database System (IDMS) as a centralised database for all liabilities of government, on a near real-time basis and undertake requisite preparatory work for PDMA. Ministry further said that the transition process from PDMC to PDMA would be implemented by a joint implementation committee (JIC). The PDMC would be staffed by 15 debt managers from Budget Division, RBI, current Middle Office and other government units.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8769.20, up by 25.25 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 8741.35 and 8774.80. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index, while one stock remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 4.79%, GAIL India up by 4.66%, Reliance Industries up by 2.90%, Tata Power up by 2.62% and Bosch up by 2.51%. On the flip side, HCL Tech. down by 1.83%, Infosys down by 1.24%, Axis Bank down by 1.06%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.98% and Zee Entertainment down by 0.96% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 3.59 points or 0.22% to 1,666.51, Taiwan Weighted increased 12.03 points or 0.13% to 9,284.31, KOSPI Index increased 12.3 points or 0.6% to 2,065.30, Nikkei 225 increased 79.86 points or 0.47% to 16,899.10 and Hang Seng increased 133.62 points or 0.56% to 23,921.93.

On the other hand, Jakarta Composite decreased 4.36 points or 0.08% to 5,416.29. China stock exchange was closed on account of ‘National Day’ holiday.