Markets hold early gains; Nifty above 8,600 level

Indian equity markets are holding early gains amid sustained buying at several counters. Sentiments remained upbeat with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's statement that the economic situation in Asia is not as pessimistic as the rest of the world and it has a higher growth potential. Though, he also said India will have to undergo rapid urbanisation in the next two decades and conceded that management or urban infrastructure, especially of water will become a serious challenge. Some support also came with the report that more than 1300 new foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have registered with capital markets regulator SEBI in April-August of 2016-17, showing a sign of their willingness to be part of India’s growth story. The number of FPIs with SEBI approval increased to 5,626 at the end of August from 4,311 in March-end, reflecting an addition of 1,315 such investors. FPI investors consider India as a preferred and stable market, given its macro-economic stability, long-term growth prospects and ongoing economic and social reforms. Meanwhile, many stock specific actions may pop-up in the session as total 101 companies would announce September quarter results scheduled for today. The list includes Bajaj Auto, Grasim Industries, Eicher Motors, Colgate-Palmolive, IDFC, Marico, Nestle India, Strides Shashun and UPL. The Q2FY17 earning has been mixed so far. Though Auto, Pharma and Energy firms have put up a good showing, major disappointments have come from Private Banks, IT, FMCG and Cements.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower on Friday as the negative cues from Wall Street and enhanced prospects of a near-term Fed rate hike dampened investors sentiments. However, Japan's Nikkei share average rose to hover near a six-month high as rising bond yields lifted insurers and banks, which are investing more in overseas bonds amid Japan's low bond yield environment. Meanwhile, US stocks displayed a choppy session after the latest round of earnings reports, as a decline in consumer discretionary sector and interest-rate sensitive stocks outweighed gains in healthcare names.

Back home, all BSE sectoral indices were trading in the green. Among them, Metal index gained the most by 1.77 percent, followed by Auto 1.08 per cent and Realty 1.03 per cent. In scrip specific development, Shriram City Union Finance has rallied after the company reported a strong 34.3% year on year growth in net profit at Rs 204 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2016. Furthermore, Tech Mahindra has surged after the company reported dollar revenue growth of 5% sequentially on a constant currency basis, best among its peers for the quarter ended September 30, 2016.

The market breadth remained optimistic as there were 1528 shares on the gaining side against 731 shares on the losing side, while 217 shares remained unchanged.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27948.26, up by 32.36 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 27789.84 and 27991.74. There were 20 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index, while one stock remained unchanged.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.95%, while Small cap index was up by 0.88%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.77%, Auto up by 1.08%, Realty up by 1.03%, PSU up by 0.95% and Oil & Gas up by 0.61%.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Coal India up by 2.44%, Tata Motors up by 2.37%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.85%, Axis Bank up by 1.39% and Tata Steel up by 1.17%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.37%, Cipla down by 1.04%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.04%, GAIL India down by 1.01% and ITC down by 0.62% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, as per the capital markets regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) latest data of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), more than 1,300 new FPIs have registered with capital markets regulator in April-August period of 2016-17. This shows a sign of their willingness to be part of India's growth story.

As per the data, the number of FPIs with Sebi approval increased to 5,626 at the end of August from 4,311 in March-end, reflecting an addition of 1,315 such investors. They had pumped in over Rs 36,000 crore in the capital markets (debt and equity) in April-August period. In a big revamp, Sebi had in 2014 released norms that clubbed different categories of foreign investors into a new class called FPIs. Sebi had also decided to offer direct entry to well-regulated foreign investors for investing in corporate bonds. During the last fiscal, a total of 2,900 FPIs had received approval from Sebi.

Based on risk profile and KYC (know your customer) requirements, FPIs have been divided into three categories, while other registration procedures have been made simpler for them. They are granted permanent registration as against the earlier practice of approval granted for one year or five years to overseas entities seeking to invest in Indian markets. The registration remains permanent unless suspended or cancelled by the board or surrendered by FPI.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8635.55, up by 20.30 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 8581.75 and 8649.40. There were 32 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 6.17%, Coal India up by 2.78%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 2.64%, Tata Motors up by 2.32% and Zee Entertainment up by 2.17%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.72%, Cipla down by 1.18%, GAIL India down by 1.02%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.02% and Ambuja Cement down by 0.76% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly lower; Shanghai Composite declined 0.17%, Hang Seng decreased 0.73%, Jakarta Composite slipped 0.07% and KOSPI Index was down by 0.37%. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted gained 0.08%, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 0.05% and Nikkei 225 was up by 0.65%.