Markets continue to trade in green in noon session

Benchmark equity indices continued to trade in green in noon session, supported by gains in FMCG, IT and Realty sector stocks. Sentiments got some support with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, finally giving its nod to all the five draft legislations needed for implementation of the unified indirect tax, paving the way for the model laws - central GST (CGST), state GST (SGST), integrated GST (IGST), Union Territory GST (UTGST) and Compensation Act - to be presented in the ongoing Budget session of Parliament after it is approved by the Union Cabinet. Some support also came with the Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das’s statement that the Indian economy is strong enough to absorb the impact of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike. However, depreciation in rupee value against the dollar, weighed on the sentiments. Reversing its 4-day climb, the rupee fell 15 paise to 65.56 against the dollar in early trade on fresh demand for the American currency from importers. In scrip specific development, Lupin was trading in green after launching Mibelas 24 Fe (Norethindrone Acetate and Ethinyl Estradiol Chewable Tablets, 1 mg/0.02 mg and Ferrous Fumarate Tablets, 75 mg) having received an approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration earlier.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green despite the negative cues from Wall Street and lower crude oil prices overnight. Investors continued to be optimistic after the U.S. Federal Reserve maintained its interest rate forecast for this year. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 29666.13, up by 80.28 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 29638.78 and 29824.62. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.37%, while Small cap index was down by 0.21%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 3.24%, IT up by 0.24% and Realty up by 0.23%, while Telecom down by 2.00%, Capital Goods down by 0.88%, PSU down by 0.77%, Utilities down by 0.74% and Power down by 0.69% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 6.86%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.91%, Lupin up by 0.77%, Wipro up by 0.69% and TCS up by 0.58%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.57%, SBI down by 1.43%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.26%, ICICI Bank down by 1.16% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.11% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, a day after the US Federal Reserve hiked interest rates, industry bodies have said that the Fed rate hike will have marginal influence on the monetary policy stance of the RBI and not expected to create much volatility in the Indian markets. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has said that RBI's policy stance is likely to be determined by a host of factors, the Fed rate hike being one of them.

FICCI also stated that fed rate hike may not have any significant impact on the Indian economy. It noted that while there could be some capital outflows, India is likely to be least impacted amongst the emerging markets. Stressing impact on India's exports, it said that the rate hike corroborates better growth prospects of the US economy, which in turn will have positive implications on global trade, including exports from India.

The Chamber has anticipated that the central bank will adopt an accommodative stance in its upcoming monetary policy, scheduled to be announced on April 6. Meanwhile, exporters' body Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) too hoped that the RBI would not hike rates. FIEO has said that the impact of Fed hike will be almost negligible on India as FDI and FII inflows in India will continue unabated.

The Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate for the second time in three months and forecast two additional hikes this year. The US Fed's key short-term rate was hiked by 0.25 percent to a still-low range of 0.75 per cent to 1 percent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9158.35, up by 4.65 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 9148.45 and 9218.40. There were 17 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 6.96%, Wipro up by 1.18%, HCL Tech. up by 1.16%, Lupin up by 0.93% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.90%. On the flip side, Idea Cellular down by 3.59%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.72%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 2.17%, Bank of Baroda down by 1.90% and Aurobindo Pharma down by 1.73% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 11.92 points or 0.05% to 24,300.20, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 12.09 points or 0.7% to 1,749.23, KOSPI Index increased 14.5 points or 0.67% to 2,164.58, Jakarta Composite increased 15.06 points or 0.27% to 5,533.31 and Taiwan Weighted increased 70.86 points or 0.72% to 9,908.69.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 decreased 68.55 points or 0.35% to 19,521.59 and Shanghai Composite decreased 25.3 points or 0.77% to 3,243.64.