Benchmarks continue lackluster trade slightly in green

Indian equity benchmarks continued their lackluster trade slightly in green in early afternoon session, on the back of buying by funds and retail investors. The benchmarks managed to hold their crucial 10,200 (Nifty) and 32,600 (Sensex) mark. Traders were taking support with the report that the International Monetary Fund suggested India to consider setting up an independent fiscal council, saying this institution has contributed to better outcomes in the countries where it has been introduced. Further, the gains in Telecom, Oil & Gas and Capital Goods stocks also provided some support to the domestic equity benchmarks. However, further move were restricted as investors turned cautious ahead of key corporate results. Meanwhile, rupee fell by 19 paise to 64.91 against the US currency in early trade following continued bouts of dollar demand from banks and importers amid higher dollar overseas. In scrip specific development, Panacea Biotec was up by over seven and half percent after receiving Manufacturing Authorization for 22 medicinal products.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as concerns about North Korea reemerged, while the dollar headed higher and bonds fell with Treasuries as speculation climbed that the next head of the Federal Reserve will be more hawkish. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 32616.09, down by 17.55 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 32556.74 and 32675.21. There were 18 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.23%, while Small cap index was up by 0.43%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 0.97%, Oil & Gas up by 0.60%, Capital Goods up by 0.60%, Realty up by 0.58% and PSU up by 0.45%, while Metal down by 0.37% and Healthcare down by 0.01% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 1.29%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.28%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.17%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.81% and TCS up by 0.77%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 0.93%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.68%, Tata Steel down by 0.68%, ONGC down by 0.67% and Infosys down by 0.61% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry C R Chaudhary has said that leather exports and production in India are likely to surge 10 percent by the year 2019. He also noted that presently, the country’s leather exports stood at $5.66 billion.

 Chaudhary pointed out that the government is taking several steps to improve business environment for the sector as part of the exercise to push growth and added that the exports of leather goods is linked to demand in developed regions like Europe. He further said that all Footwear Design and Development Institutes (FDDIs) will become institutes of national importance from October 23 with the implementation of the FDDI Act, which was approved by Parliament.

The minister also expressed hopes that FDDIs will be able to give degrees, diplomas and certificates and they would also formulate their course and curriculum.  The approval of the FDDI Act by Parliament in July had ended the uncertainty among the students who were not sure whether they would get degree from the institute.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10235.05, up by 4.20 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 10212.60 and 10251.85. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 2.64%, Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 2.35%, Yes Bank up by 1.99%, HPCL up by 1.93% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.26%. On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 1.56%, Tata Motors down by 1.16%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.13%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.03% and Bosch down by 0.90% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted decreased 51.06 points or 0.47% to 10,723.15, Jakarta Composite was down by 16.81 points or 0.28% to 5,932.90, Shanghai Composite declined 4.89 points or 0.14% to 3,373.58 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI shed 0.17 points or 0.01% to 1,754.20.

On the flip side, KOSPI Index increased 4.32 points or 0.17% to 2,484.37, Hang Seng was up by 8.8 points or 0.03% to 28,701.60 and Nikkei 225 added 80.56 points or 0.38% to 21,336.12.