Indian bourses continue to trade in positive territory

Key benchmark indices continued to trade in green in afternoon session, as investors discounted the potential impact of Italy's referendum vote and looked ahead to the RBI's monetary policy review meeting on December 7, amid expectations the central bank will cut rates by at least 25 basis points. Sentiments got some support after Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that India’s economy is expected to grow five folds by 2040, the government expects growth in manufacturing, transport, civil aviation among other sectors. Meanwhile, rupee strengthened by 17 paise to 68.04 against the dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on increased selling of the US currency by exporters and banks. However, there was some cautiousness too with a private report stating that India's economic growth rate is likely to fall to 6.5 percent in the ongoing quarter and remain subdued at around 7 percent in the January-March period as cash shortage is expected to last at least until next month. In scrip specific development, Tata Power rose around 3 percent after its strategic engineering division bagged an order worth Rs. 200 crore from the Ministry of Defense.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors globally brushed off Italian voters’ rejection of constitutional reform. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 26468.92, up by 119.82 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 26393.99 and 26502.43. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.73%, while Small cap index was up by 0.76%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.00%, Oil & Gas up by 1.11%, Power up by 1.00%, IT up by 0.87%, PSU up by 0.84%, while FMCG down by 0.74% and Consumer Durables down by 0.13% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 3.07%, GAIL India up by 1.84%, NTPC up by 1.70%, Wipro up by 1.22% and Infosys up by 1.21%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.06%, ITC down by 1.01%, Asian Paints down by 0.52%, Lupin down by 0.48% and Sun Pharma Inds. down by 0.47% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), report titled ‘The case for a circular economy in India’, prepared in cooperation with Indian government, businesses has said that India can add value to its growth by resorting to a circular economy essentiating maximum utility of products, components and materials.

The report highlighted that a circular economy development path in India could create annual value of Rs 14 lakh crore ($218 billion) in 2030 and Rs 40 lakh crore ($624 billion) in 2050 compared with the current development scenario. Circular economy refers to a continuous cycle preserving and enhancing natural capital, optimising resource yields, while minimising risks by managing infinite stocks and renewable flows.

As per the report businesses in India can save on material cost and increase their profits by adopting circular economy approaches. It noted that recent initiatives by businesses, government bodies and non-profits in India to align with circular economy, it says Indian habits are deeply ingrained with circularity with high rates of utilisation and repair of vehicles and recycling to material post-use.

The report added that lower costs could also help India implement such initiatives as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and the National Food Security Mission. Also, to fulfill the need of cities and dwelling in view of expanding population, the report finds renewable and recycled materials and modular construction methods can minimise waste and reduce construction costs.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8165.40, up by 36.65 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 8148.50 and 8176.65. There were 36 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC up by 3.26%, Tata Power up by 2.67%, Idea Cellular up by 2.00%, GAIL India up by 1.73% and NTPC up by 1.54%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.12%, ITC down by 1.10%, Eicher Motors down by 0.75%, Power Grid Corpn. down by 0.62% and Bosch down by 0.53% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets were trading in green, Shanghai Composite increased 0.57 points or 0.02% to 3,205.28, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI added 3.74 points or 0.23% to 1,628.71, Jakarta Composite gained 8.28 points or 0.16% to 5,276.59, KOSPI Index increased 26.5 points or 1.35% to 1,989.86, Nikkei 225 was up by 85.55 points or 0.47% to 18,360.54, Taiwan Weighted increased 90.11 points or 0.98% to 9,250.77 and Hang Seng rose 153.51 points or 0.68% to 22,659.06.