Markets trim losses; remain in negative territory

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed their losses in late afternoon session to come off from lowest points of the day but remained in negative territory. Though, the broader markets showed some fervor and traded with notable gains, performing better than their larger peers. The indices trimmed losses with taking support from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) report that the adoption of the landmark goods and services tax (GST) from July 1 will help to raise India’s medium-term gross domestic product (GDP) growth to over 8 percent as it will create a single national market for enhancing the efficiency of the movement of goods and services across Indian states. Besides, Niti Aayog also exuded confidence that India will get back to over 8 percent growth in another 2-3 years. However, weakness in European and Asian indices amid persisting geopolitical worries kept the sentiments subdued. Some concerns also came with the private report that retail loans grew at a healthy 17.7 percent in 2016, but there was an increase in dud loans in the segment which has become a focus area for the lenders amid difficulties to grow corporate books.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red as investors concentrated on new earnings reports and geopolitical tensions. Asian markets were also trading in red. Back home, in scrip specific development, Prism Cement edged higher after the company received Letter of Intent (LoI) from Madhya Pradesh Government for allotment of cement grade limestone mining lease for 50 years in Villages Chulhi and Majhiyar, District Satna, Madhya Pradesh, with about 23.6 million tons (MT) of reserves, subject to completion of formalities.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 29949.55, down by 80.19 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 29848.21 and 30067.64. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.30%, while Small cap index up by 0.57%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.74%, Auto up by 0.93%, PSU up by 0.79%, Basic Materials up by 0.63% and Consumer Disc up by 0.61%, while Realty down by 1.66%, FMCG down by 0.94%, Telecom down by 0.80%, TECK down by 0.39% and Oil & Gas down by 0.33% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 3.03%, ONGC up by 2.48%, SBI up by 1.79%, Asian Paints up by 1.40% and Tata Steel up by 1.36%. On the flip side, ITC down by 1.98%, HDFC down by 1.81%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.42%, HDFC Bank down by 1.42% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.32% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to make new National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy successful, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has expressed need of an ecosystem to take this policy to a logical end even before it is commercialized and noted that partnering with industry associations, bringing in global players will be necessary along with finding out angel investors to create an ecosystem.

Noting that India is home to many new ideas, Union Railway Minister has said that there is a huge scope for innovation, when the country put these ideas in infrastructure and added that India could become a $ 10 trillion economy in the course of next decade and a half. He also suggested to use innovation in information, communication technology (ICT) to make lives of people better thereby addressing social issues through business products.

The railway minister further said that India could be the leader of the innovation process and to achieve this, the Country’s innovators who have done well need to be recognized, stressing the need to develop plans and industry partnerships. He further said that innovation is going to make India's march towards reaching magic figure faster.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9311.60, down by 30.55 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 9282.25 and 9342.65. There were 26 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 3.04%, Hindalco up by 3.00%, ONGC up by 2.99%, Bank of Baroda up by 2.70% and Bosch up by 2.16%. On the flip side, ITC down by 2.40%, BPCL down by 2.36%, Bharti Infratel down by 1.85%, Ambuja Cement down by 1.80% and HDFC down by 1.76% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 83.35 points or 0.34% to 24,615.13, Nikkei 225 decreased 55.13 points or 0.29% to 19,196.74, Jakarta Composite decreased 17.96 points or 0.31% to 5,689.06 and KOSPI Index decreased 4.02 points or 0.18% to 2,205.44. On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 1.4 points or 0.08% to 1,769.32, Shanghai Composite increased 2.47 points or 0.08% to 3,154.66 and Taiwan Weighted increased 11.38 points or 0.12% to 9,872.00.

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 18.01 points or 0.25% to 7,219.16 and Germany’s DAX decreased 1.79 points or 0.01% to 12,442.00. On the flip side, France’s CAC increased 0.41 points or 0.01% to 5,272.11.