Sensex, Nifty recoup losses; consumer durables stocks steal the show

Wiping off all of their losses, Indian benchmarks entered into positive territory in late afternoon session, on the back of buying in Consumer Durables, Metal and PSU stocks amid firm Asian cues. Investors took encouragement with the private report expecting a pick-up in the note ban affected rural demand from October this year. The report further said that the second consecutive bumper crop on good monsoons, farm loan waivers, and lower agriculture input costs will help revive the rural demand. Some support also came with the report that foreign direct investment (FDI) in textile sector more than doubled to $618.95 million during 2016-17 from $230.13 million in the previous fiscal. Textile exports during 2016-17 too rose to $36 billion from $23.9 billion in the previous financial year. Meanwhile, the government may impose anti- dumping duty on castings for wind operated power generators from China to guard domestic players from below-cost imports.

On the global front, European markets were mostly trading in red, as investors monitored earnings reports and reacted to further political uncertainty at the White House. However, Asian markets were trading green. Back home, in scrip specific development, ITC gained after the company increased prices of select cigarette Kings brand by 20% to Rs 360 per 20 cigarette pack. On the other hand, the company is also planning to enter into the healthcare sector by way of setting up a multi-speciality hospital in the country.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 32273.53, up by 35.65 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 32107.99 and 32298.28. There were 21 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.24%, while Small cap index was up by 0.07%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 3.88%, Metal up by 1.60%, PSU up by 1.33%, Oil & Gas up by 0.78% and Basic Materials up by 0.78%, while Telecom down by 1.21%, Healthcare down by 1.05% and Energy down by 0.24% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hero MotoCorp up by 2.61%, Coal India up by 1.76%, Cipla up by 1.51%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.44% and Tata Steel up by 1.39%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 3.02%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.97%, Reliance Industries down by 1.77%, Sun Pharma down by 1.76% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.07% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, taking a mega leap, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow in India’s textile sector surged more than double to $618.95 million during the financial year 2016-17 (FY17) as against of $230.13 million in the previous financial year (FY16). The sector has received $21.41 million foreign inflows in first two months of current financial year.

To enhance investment, production and export in the textile sector, the government has launched a special package for the apparel and made-ups segments of the industry. The package includes enhanced duty drawback coverage, rebate of state levies on export of garments and made-ups, additional incentives under Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) and Scheme for Production and Employment Linked Support for Garmenting Unit Pradhan Mantri Paridhan Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMPRPY) and incentives under the Income Tax Act.

Meanwhile, as per data provided by Ministry of Textiles, the export of textiles and clothing including handicrafts also increased marginally to $39665 million in 2016-17 from $39664 million in the previous financial year. Of the total export, in 2016-17, readymade garment’s export stood at $17091 million, while export of cotton textiles stood at $10594 million. There was increment in export of carpets and coir & coir manufacturers, which surged to $1498 million and $297 million in FY17 from $1442 million and $262 million in FY16 respectively. However, silk export declined to $270 million in FY17 from $344 million in FY16.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10046.45, up by 32.80 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 9988.35 and 10047.15. There were 38 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were IOC up by 5.23%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.75%, Vedanta up by 2.41%, HCL Tech. up by 2.10% and BPCL up by 1.94%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 2.92%, Tata Power down by 2.48%, Aurobindo Pharma down by 2.27%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.06% and Sun Pharma down by 1.88% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 1.6 points or 0.09% to 1,773.50, KOSPI Index increased 8.6 points or 0.36% to 2,395.45, Hang Seng increased 31.67 points or 0.12% to 27,562.68 and Taiwan Weighted increased 36.68 points or 0.35% to 10,506.56. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 decreased 76.93 points or 0.38% to 19,952.33, Shanghai Composite decreased 10.85 points or 0.33% to 3,262.08 and Jakarta Composite decreased 3.91 points or 0.07% to 5,776.67.

European markets were trading mostly in red; Germany’s DAX decreased 7.91 points or 0.07% to 12,146.81 and France’s CAC decreased 1.72 points or 0.03% to 5,128.77. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 0.79 points or 0.01% to 7,475.56.