Benchmarks continue to hold their head above water

Indian equity markets continued to hold their head above water on prospects of further rate cuts by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after inflation cooled to a 3-month low in September. India's Wholesale Price Index (WPI) in the month of September 2016 has softened to 3.57 percent compared to 3.74 percent in the previous month. Beside, the consumer prices index (CPI), eased in the month of September at 4.31% as compared to 5.05% in August, mainly on account of a sharp fall in food prices especially those of vegetables. Markets also got some support with the Arun Jaitley's statement that India's economic reforms could 'neutralize' the global economic slowdown. Firm opening in European markets too supported sentiments. European shares move up on Friday after stronger-than-anticipated inflation data from China helped to calm nerves over global growth prospects.

Back home, shares of oil & gas companies moved higher with the private report stated that Oil prices edged up supported by record Indian crude imports and upcoming talks between OPEC producers and other oil exporters on curbing output to end a glut in the global market.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27689.35, up by 46.24 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 27548.18 and 27763.54. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.60%, while Small cap index was up by 0.73%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 2.14%, Capital Goods up by 1.34%, Realty up by 0.88%, PSU up by 0.81%, Power up by 0.44%, while Metal down by 0.44%, TECK down by 0.37%, IT down by 0.13%, FMCG down by 0.08%, Consumer Durables down by 0.06% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were GAIL India up by 3.63%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.20%, Reliance Industries up by 1.87%, ONGC up by 1.53% and TCS up by 1.39%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.20%, Infosys down by 1.47%, HDFC down by 1.21%, Lupin down by 1.11% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.81% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for nearly Rs 1,955 crore highway project for construction of a link between Sahibganj in Jharkhand to Manihari in Bihar, including for a bridge on the Ganga.  

The new link road project will be approximately 16 km long, starting from Sahibganj Pass in Jharkhand to another six-km stretch near Narenpur junction of NH-133B and NH-131A on Manihari bypass in Bihar. The project includes a four-lane bridge on the Ganga river and this will help in expediting the improvement of infrastructure in Bihar and Jharkhand and also in reducing the time and cost of travel, particularly heavy traffic in the area between the two states. Also, it would increase employment potential for local labourers for project activities.  

The estimated project cost of Rs 1,954.77 crore includes cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. The total length of the road to be developed is approximately 22 kms and the concession period of the project is 19 years, including a construction period of four years.
The new highway project is a new formation of the missing link at NH-131A to NH-133B connecting Sahibganj in Jharkhand and Manihari in Bihar. At present, there is a missing link between Jharkhand to Bihar as there is no bridge on the Ganga at this point.  

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8581.65, up by 8.30 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 8549.80 and 8604.45. There were 25 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were GAIL India up by 3.86%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.19%, Reliance Industries up by 2.02%, BPCL up by 1.78% and ONGC up by 1.43%. On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 3.23%, Bharti Infratel down by 2.20%, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.14%, Idea Cellular down by 1.51% and HDFC down by 1.43% were the top losers.

Asian market were trading mostly in green; Shanghai Composite increased 2.46 points or 0.08% to 3,063.81, KOSPI Index climbed 7.22 points or 0.36% to 2,022.66, Jakarta Composite surged 59.44 points or 1.11% to 5,399.84, Nikkei 225 rose 82.13 points or 0.49% to 16,856.37 and Hang Seng increased 202.01 points or 0.88% to 23,233.3. On other hand, Taiwan Weighted decreased 54 points or 0.59% to 9,165.17 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dropped 4.66 points or 0.28% to 1,660.36.

European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 37.22 points or 0.53% to 7,014.96, France’s CAC surged 45.32 points or 1.03% to 4,450.49 and Germany’s DAX was up by 83.2 points or 0.8% to 10,497.27.