Benchmarks trade slightly in green in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks have made a cautious start and are trading with marginal gains in early deals on Monday, with traders taking some support with the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) approving hike in investment limit in exchange traded funds (ETFs) to 15 per cent, from the existing 10 per cent. However, gains remained capped with the government slating to unveil GDP figures for the March quarter on May, 31. Meanwhile, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has said that classification of different items under various tax slabs of GST has created an environment of anxiety and concern among the trading community across the country.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green at this point of time, though upside remained capped, as there was some cautiousness to as the North Korea fired another missile, which appeared to be a Scud variant. The US markets made a mixed closing in the last session after a lackluster trade, despite a report showing that US economy grew by much more than initially estimated in the first quarter.

Back home, banking stocks remained under pressure after Arun Jaitley has said that poor performance by private investors and banks still remains a challenge for the Indian economy. He also said the banks have to recover their bad loans to boost private investment, as domestic private investment needs to pick up. Meanwhile, the market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was weak, with 810 shares gaining and 1,158 shares declining, while a total of 93 shares were unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31056.80, up by 28.59 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 30869.90 and 31155.40. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.78%, while Small cap index was down by 0.69%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 1.83%, Energy up by 0.23%, Metal up by 0.16% and Consumer Durables up by 0.06%, while Healthcare down by 3.28%, Realty down by 2.65%, IT down by 1.08%, Power down by 0.98% and TECK down by 0.96% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 3.03%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.07%, HDFC up by 1.75%, HDFC Bank up by 1.02% and Reliance Industries up by 0.97%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 12.31%, Adani Ports down by 3.36%, Tata Motors down by 1.21%, ICICI Bank down by 1.17% and Axis Bank down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to protect domestic manufacturers from cheap Chinese imports of chemicals, India may impose anti-dumping duty of up to $8.79 per kg mainly used in pharma industry.  The Directorate General of Antidumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), in its preliminary findings, concluded that the chemical was exported by firms in China at prices less than their normal values in India and due to which the domestic industry has been materially retarded. The DGAD recommended imposition of provisional anti- dumping duty so as to remove the injury to the domestic industry. The suggested duty ranges between $0.03 per kg to $8.79 per kg on the imports. The DGAD in its notification also stated that imports of the acid increased to 583 tonnes in 2015-16 from 427 tonnes in 2013-14.

The O Acid or Ofloxacin Acid chemical is mainly used in pharma industry.  It is an intermediate chemical for manufacture of Ofloxacin, which is a synthetic chemotherapeutic antibiotic of the fluoroquinolone drug class considered to be a second-generation fluoroquinolone, generally used to treat a variety of illnesses including bronchitis, pneumonia, and infections of the skin, bladder, urinary tract, reproductive organs, and prostate, as well as used in the making of generic drug equivalents for oral and intravenous administration. This drug is labelled on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines as the most important medications needed in the basic health system.

Countries initiate anti-dumping probe to determine if the domestic industry has been hurt by flooding of below-cost imports. As a counter-measure, they come up with duties under the multi-lateral WTO regime. Anti-dumping steps are taken to ensure fair trade and provide a level-playing field to the domestic industry. They are not a measure to restrict import or cause an unjustified increase in cost of products.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9597.55, up by 2.45 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 9547.70 and 9622.30. There were 26 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 2.94%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.18%, HDFC up by 1.96%, Indiabulls Housing up by 1.75% and BPCL up by 1.38%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 12.70%, Sun Pharma down by 12.27%, Adani Ports down by 3.62%, Aurobindo Pharma down by 3.29% and Yes Bank down by 3.05% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.58 points or 0.03% to 1,772.88, KOSPI Index gained 3.92 points or 0.17% to 2,359.22, Nikkei 225 added 24.92 points or 0.13% to 19,711.76 and Hang Seng was up by 49.97 points or 0.19% to 25,689.24. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was down by 3.68 points or 0.06% to 5,713.13.