Benchmarks add gains; Sensex regains 32,900 mark

The local equity benchmarks added some gains in late afternoon session to carry on their northward journey, following firm European markets. The markets remained in positive mood as the Reserve Bank retained economic growth projection for 2017-18 at 6.7% saying that the risks are evenly balanced. Besides, former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor YV Reddy’s optimism over the country’s growth, was boosting the investors’ sentiments. He said that amid uncertainties in the global economic order, a sense of optimism about the future is more in India than in other parts of the world. Some support also come with International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest report stating that India is among bright spots in the global economy and is emerging as a major driving force in global energy trends, with all modern fuels and technologies playing a part. The market participants paid no heed towards the report stating that India has slipped six notches to 37th position among 60 major economies in the world in terms of their attractiveness to Chinese firms, while Singapore topped the list compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Sensex and Nifty gained the traction by surging around a percent each, while all the sectors were trading in green.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, after US markets regained some equilibrium to end mixed overnight despite falling oil prices and concerns about the possibility of violence in the Middle East. Besides, investors reacted to merger and acquisition news and looked ahead to new economic data. However, Asian markets were trading in red. Back home, in scrip specific development, Somany Ceramics was trading in green after the company redeemed Commercial Paper (CP) worth Rs 20 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 32901.04, up by 303.86 points or 0.93% after trading in a range of 32598.12 and 32901.81. There were 26 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.22%, while Small cap index was up by 1.16%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.39%, Utilities up by 2.37%, Capital Goods up by 2.31%, Consumer Durables up by 2.08% and Auto up by 2.00%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 3.22%, Larsen & Toubro up by 3.02%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.92%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.74% and Tata Steel up by 2.63%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 0.75%, Sun Pharma down by 0.59%, TCS down by 0.47%, Cipla down by 0.45% and Wipro down by 0.37% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, after hitting an over eight- year low in the month of September, the share of foreign portfolio investments (FPI) in domestic capital markets through participatory notes (P-notes) surged to Rs 1.31 lakh crore at the end of October. According to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) data, total value of P-note investments in Indian markets including equity, debt and derivatives, at October-end, climbed to Rs 131,006 crore, from Rs 122,684 crore at the end of September. Prior to that, the total investment value through P-notes stood at Rs 125,037 crore in August-end and Rs 135,297 crore in July-end.

Investments through P-Notes were showing declining trend in the past few months mainly on the stricter norms put in place by the market regulator, but the October data came in as a big surprise showing 6.78% growth month on month basis. Of the total, P-note holdings in equities at October-end were at Rs 90,161 crore, while in debts and derivatives were at Rs 30,468 crore and Rs 10,378 crore respectively. Though, the quantum of FPI investments via P-notes remains unchanged at 4.1 per cent.

P-Notes or offshore derivative instruments are issued by FPIs to individuals or institutions located outside India who do not want to invest directly in the domestic market by registering with Sebi. However, they need to go through due diligence and Sebi has prohibited FPIs from issuing such notes where the underlying asset is a derivative, except those which are used for hedging purposes.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10145.55, up by 101.45 points or 1.01% after trading in a range of 10061.90 and 10151.10. There were 43 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were GAIL India up by 6.40%, UPL up by 6.07%, Tech Mahindra up by 4.80%, Bharti Airtel up by 3.84% and Tata Steel up by 2.88%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 1.04%, Wipro down by 0.57%, TCS down by 0.50%, Sun Pharma down by 0.42% and Cipla down by 0.42% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted decreased 38.16 points or 0.37% to 10,355.76, Shanghai Composite decreased 21.91 points or 0.67% to 3,272.05, Jakarta Composite decreased 18.81 points or 0.31% to 6,016.70 and KOSPI Index decreased 12.39 points or 0.5% to 2,461.98. On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 3.37 points or 0.2% to 1,721.70, Hang Seng increased 78.39 points or 0.28% to 28,303.19 and Nikkei 225 increased 320.99 points or 1.45% to 22,498.03.

All European markets were trading in green; France’s CAC increased 8.49 points or 0.16% to 5,382.84, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 11.36 points or 0.15% to 7,359.39 and Germany’s DAX increased 31.04 points or 0.24% to 13,029.89.