Indian bourses continue to trade in positive territory

Key benchmark indices continued to trade in positive territory in the afternoon session led by gains in frontline blue chip stocks such as GAIL, HDFC, ONGC and Adani Ports & SEZ among others. Sentiments remained positive with the report that a normal monsoon this year should continue to revive rural demand and allow the RBI to cut rates by 25 bps in August. According to the report, rural demand is already reviving and the autumn kharif farm income has jumped by 26 per cent last year. Besides, a firm trend in Asian markets after crude oil prices rebounded from an overnight sell-off amid Japan reporting stronger-than-expected exports in March and easing tensions over North Korea too helped lift sentiments. In scrip specific development, Sun TV Network was up by around five percent with the report that the company may see subscription boost and increase in revenues after Tamil Nadu state government-backed Arasu Cable TV received a digital license.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, as signs of resilience emerged in some markets, while steadying commodity prices - especially for oil - prompted some bargain hunting among investors. Japan's exports rose at a faster-than-expected 12 percent pace in March, while imports jumped nearly 16 percent from a year earlier.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 29425.55, up by 88.98 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 29341.68 and 29453.06. 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 0.80%, while Small cap index added 1.09%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.71%, Basic Materials up by 1.50%, Consumer Durables up by 1.08%, Industrials up by 0.98% and Capital Goods up by 0.82%, while Bankex down by 0.28% and Power down by 0.17% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were GAIL India up by 3.87%, HDFC up by 1.94%, ONGC up by 1.58%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.41% and HDFC Bank up by 0.91%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 2.21%, Axis Bank down by 1.61%, Power Grid down by 1.56%, Sun Pharma down by 0.65% and Coal India down by 0.48% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government has allowed state entities to borrow directly from bilateral Official development Assistance (ODA) partners like Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the purpose of implementing vital infrastructure projects. The decision will benefit important projects such as Mumbai trans-harbour link (MTHL). Besides, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), a state government entity, has also been allowed to borrow directly from JICA for implementation of MTHL project. The estimated project cost for MTHL is Rs 17,854 crore, out of which JICA loan portion is expected to be Rs 15,109 crore.

Under the new rules, the State government entities will directly borrow from the external bilateral funding agencies to fulfilment of certain conditions and all repayments of loans and interests to the funding agencies will be directly remitted by the concerned borrower. While state governments will furnish guarantee for the loan, the Centre will provide counter guarantee.

Nowadays, external assistance plays a supportive role in financing major infrastructure projects, social sector projects and in building up institutional capacity. The role of external assistance has increased further significance in view of the large gap in funding requirements for major infrastructure projects implemented by the State governments in order to acquire competitive strength under the globalized economic framework.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9136.70, up by 33.20 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 9102.65 and 9143.90. There were 35 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Grasim Industries up by 4.51%, GAIL India up by 3.95%, Bank of Baroda up by 2.20%, Ambuja Cement up by 2.14% and HDFC up by 2.01%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 3.64%, ICICI Bank down by 1.92%, Axis Bank down by 1.66%, Power Grid down by 1.44% and Tata Power down by 1.28% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Shanghai Composite increased 0.68 points or 0.02% to 3,171.37, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 3.1 points or 0.18% to 1,742.05, KOSPI Index was up by 10.75 points or 0.5% to 2,149.15 and Hang Seng added 104.97 points or 0.44% to 23,930.85.

On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted decreased 7.25 points or 0.08% to 9,632.69, Jakarta Composite was down by 2.45 points or 0.04% to 5,604.07 and Nikkei 225 dipped 1.71 points or 0.01% to 18,430.49.