Markets hold gains; Nifty above 9750 mark

Indian equity benchmarks were holding their gains in late afternoon session amid a firming trend in Asian markets. Traders remained optimistic with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion’s (DIPP) report that foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country grew by 37 per cent to $10.4 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal. Some support also came with the report stating that India’s foreign reserves continue to march to record highs, touching $393 billion early this month backed by strong foreign portfolio and investment flows. However, selling pressure in Realty, Power and Auto stocks capped some gains. Besides, investors remained cautious with leading stock exchange BSE announcement that it will ‘compulsorily’ delist 200 firms this week and bar their promoters from the markets for 10 years as trading in these shares have remained suspended for over a decade. All these companies will be delisted from August 23.

On the global front, Asian market were trading in green after modest gains on Wall Street, while robust metals prices underpinned some regional markets even as investors remained wary ahead of the annual central banking conference in Jackson Hole later this week. Back home, in scrip specific development, Cipla gained after its subsidiary -- Cipla Health -- launched Nicotex Nicotine patches to help smoker kick the habit in 12 weeks. Nicotex Nicotine patch is a skin/transdermal patch that works on the proven principle of nicotine replacement therapy and helps in quit smoking in 12 weeks. The company already sells a gum with similar name.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31330.17, up by 71.32 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 31241.50 and 31484.28. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.17%, while Small cap index was down by 0.31%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.49%, Energy up by 1.00%, PSU up by 0.48%, IT up by 0.35% and Telecom up by 0.34%, while Realty down by 0.83%, Consumer Disc down by 0.36%, Power down by 0.25%, Auto down by 0.20% and Basic Materials down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Lupin up by 2.03%, Axis Bank up by 1.58%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 1.44%, ONGC up by 1.36% and Wipro up by 1.23%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 0.88%, Asian Paints down by 0.74%, Power Grid Corporation down by 0.73%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.67% and SBI down by 0.51% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, foreign direct investment (FDI) in India zoomed 37% during the first quarter (April-June) of fiscal year 2017-18 to touch $10.4 billion. As per the data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the country had attracted FDI of $7.59 billion during same quarter previous year. The main sectors which attracted the highest foreign inflows include services, telecom, trading, computer hardware and software and automobile. Besides, bulk of the FDI came in from Singapore followed by Mauritius, Netherlands and Japan.

The DIPP also stated that FDI equity inflow in manufacturing sector grew by 31% to $4.19 billion during April-June this fiscal. It noted that FDI equity inflow in glass, Leather cement & gypsum products, sea transport, air transport, construction development, mining, sugar and medical & surgical appliances recorded five-fold jump during the quarter. It added that since the launch of 'Make in India' initiative (October 2014 - June this year), foreign inflows surged 64% to $110.12 billion from $67.26 billion in the same period last year.

To attract foreign inflow, the government has announced several measures including liberalisation of FDI policy and improvement in business climate. Foreign investments are considered crucial for India as it needs around $1 trillion for overhauling its infrastructure sector such as ports, airports and highways to boost growth. A strong inflow of foreign investments will help improve the country's balance of payments (BoP) situation and strengthen the rupee value against other global currencies, especially the US dollar.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9779.40, up by 25.05 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 9752.60 and 9828.45. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indian Oil Corporation up by 3.23%, Hindalco up by 1.98%, Lupin up by 1.94%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.81% and ONGC up by 1.62%. On the flip side, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 2.13%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.28%, Bank of Baroda down by 1.13%, Yes Bank down by 1.05% and Power Grid Corporation down by 0.82% were the top losers.

All the Asian market were trading in green; Nikkei 225 increased 1.15 points or 0.01% to 19,394.28, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 2.54 points or 0.14% to 1,774.16, Shanghai Composite increased 4.69 points or 0.14% to 3,291.60, Jakarta Composite increased 8.81 points or 0.15% to 5,869.81, KOSPI Index increased 10.72 points or 0.46% to 2,365.72, Taiwan Weighted increased 65.68 points or 0.64% to 10,392.07 and Hang Seng increased 271.42 points or 1% to 27,426.10.