Bourses manage to trade modestly in green

Indian equity benchmarks managed to trade modestly in green in late afternoon session, tracking firm opening in European markets. Investors were taking support from Niti Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar’s statement that the economic downturn which began in the last two years of the UPA II regime has bottomed out and growth will improve in the next two quarters. Adding some optimism, India has unveiled a new initiative ‘Access India Programme (AIP)’ to attract investments from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UK and it will act as a market entry support system for smaller companies with a potential to expand into the Indian market. However, the trade remained choppy ahead of the September F&O expiry. Meanwhile, more than 700 fresh foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were registered with Sebi in the first four months of 2017-18, indicating that India remains an attractive destination.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green after President Donald Trump unveiled much-awaited tax plans, however, Asian markets were trading in red. Back home, in scrip specific development, Godrej Properties (GPL) was trading higher after the company entered into a Development Management Agreement (DMA) with Manyata Developers to develop a group housing project in East Bangalore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31229.78, up by 69.97 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 31081.83 and 31283.92. There were 17 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.95%, while Small cap index was up by 0.83%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.87%, Basic Materials up by 0.78%, FMCG up by 0.67%, Metal up by 0.61% and Realty up by 0.60%, while Energy down by 0.51%, Oil & Gas down by 0.15% and Consumer Durables down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 3.36%, Coal India up by 2.20%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.87%, Axis Bank up by 1.75% and Sun Pharma up by 1.62%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.59%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.56%, ICICI Bank down by 1.47%, Reliance Industries down by 1.38% and Wipro down by 0.92% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to attract investments from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, India has unveiled a new initiative ‘Access India Programme (AIP)’, which will act as a market entry support system for smaller companies with a potential to expand into the Indian market.

The AIP is a facilitation programme, launched by the Indian High Commission in the UK along with knowledge partner UK India Business Council (UKIBC). In line with government’s various efforts and steps to improve ease of doing business in the country, the new initiative will also contribute 'Make in India' concept by facilitating investments from the UK but will not be limited to just 'Make in India'.

The market entry support programme will be consisting of six annual workshops and mentoring programmes and aims to encourage a flow of SMEs into India. It will initially identify a group of about 50 UK companies by the end of this year to begin their entry process from early 2018. Besides, with the use of diagnostics and analysis of SME potential, the AIP will work towards creating a blended plan to link SMEs to a strong support network of prime manufacturers, OEMs, trade bodies and Chambers of Commerce.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9743.65, up by 7.90 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 9687.55 and 9758.80. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 3.91%, Ambuja Cement up by 2.59%, Coal India up by 2.47%, Bharti Infratel up by 2.03% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.94%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.80%, Asian Paints down by 1.62%, ICICI Bank down by 1.61%, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 1.56% and Reliance Industries down by 1.40% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 220.83 points or 0.8% to 27,421.60, Taiwan Weighted decreased 30.23 points or 0.29% to 10,296.45, Jakarta Composite decreased 18.32 points or 0.31% to 5,844.70, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 6.18 points or 0.35% to 1,758.06 and Shanghai Composite decreased 5.63 points or 0.17% to 3,339.64. On the flip side, KOSPI Index increased 0.57 points or 0.02% to 2,373.14 and Nikkei 225 increased 96.06 points or 0.47% to 20,363.11.

All European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 4.38 points or 0.06% to 7,317.89, France’s CAC increased 12.74 points or 0.24% to 5,294.70 and Germany’s DAX increased 42.69 points or 0.34% to 12,700.10.