Benchmarks trade in fine fettle in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks have made a positive start and are trading in fine fettle in early deals on Wednesday, as traders get some support with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that our aim is that India must be an engine of growth as well as an example in climate friendly development in the years to come. However, gains remained capped on account of ongoing geo-political tension. Also, the Australian weather office has said that El Nino still has a 50 per cent chance of developing later this year, though all international models say if it develops, it will be weak.

On the global front, Asian markets were exhibiting mixed trend at this point of time, as traders remained cautious ahead of tomorrow's release of the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting. The Asian markets have made a mixed start and the Chinese markets were trading in red after Moody’s Investors Service cut its rating on the country’s debt, saying the outlook for its financial strength will worsen. However, the US markets despite a lackluster day of trade managed to end modestly higher in the last session.

Back home, metal stocks remained under pressure after Moody’s Investors Services downgraded China's long-term local and foreign currency issuer ratings. DTH and cable services provider companies remained buzzing, as the government has said that taxation on entertainment, cable and DTH services shall come down under the Goods and Services Tax regime as the 'entertainment tax' levied by states has been subsumed in the GST. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was weak, with 832 shares gaining and 1,065 shares declining, while a total of 91 shares were unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 30457.56, up by 92.31 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 30395.69 and 30497.96. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.38%, while Small cap index was down by 0.11%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 0.90%, Auto up by 0.77%, Realty up by 0.31%, Capital Goods up by 0.25% and IT up by 0.18%, while Telecom down by 0.62%, Healthcare down by 0.61%, Metal down by 0.39%, Basic Materials down by 0.39% and FMCG down by 0.33% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 3.82%, HDFC up by 1.56%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.29%, Wipro up by 1.07% and Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone up by 0.98%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.10%, Asian Paints down by 1.04%, Axis Bank down by 0.73%, GAIL India down by 0.71% and ITC down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to ensure hassle-free movement of businessmen in the 16-member bloc Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) under the mega trade deal, India has proposed RCEP business visa card. In this regard negotiations are likely to be concluded next year. Such cards are issued only after thorough security clearances. India is of the view that negotiations on services for the free trade agreement are not picking pace.

The 16-member bloc RCEP is negotiating a mega trade agreement that aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical co-operation, competition and intellectual property rights. The Indian Commerce Ministry however has said that several areas still required to be negotiated to finality. The Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also indicated that the negotiations might not conclude this year and move into the first half of 2018. On the visa issue, she said that ‘We have actually given a proposal for RCEP business card. So we have proposed that for business people, like APEC member countries have APEC business cards, similarly we have asked for RCEP members.’ She added that negotiations on services, a key area of interest for India, are not picking pace. Sitharaman pointed out that a selective approach to the detriment of services would not be in the best interest of RCEP negotiations, and would be failing to acknowledge, promote and protect the strength and mutually beneficial nature of the current relationship.

Indian companies with limited expatriate presence had created over 100,000 local jobs in the RCEP countries. India wants the member nations to abide by the commitments already made in the services sector and then move forward in the RCEP talks. The 16 countries account for over a quarter of the world's economy, estimated to be more than $75 trillion. RCEP comprises 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) and their six FTA partners -- India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9401.75, up by 15.60 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 9386.35 and 9416.00. There were 26 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors - DVR up by 3.85%, Tata Motors up by 3.56%, Yes Bank up by 1.74%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.31% and HDFC was up by 1.26%. On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 2.27%, Bank of Baroda down by 1.98%, Bharti Infratel down by 1.28%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.18% and Asian Paints was down by 1.16% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 3.39 points or 0.19% to 1,770.56, KOSPI Index gained 3.89 points or 0.17% to 2,315.63, Taiwan Weighted added 41.81 points or 0.42% to 10,049.65 and Nikkei 225 was up by 99.98 points or 0.51% to 19,713.26.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite decreased 52.01 points or 0.91% to 5,678.61, Hang Seng slipped 37.89 points or 0.15% to 25,365.26 and Shanghai Composite was down by 11.01 points or 0.36% to 3,050.94.