Benchmarks trade slightly in green in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made a positive start and are trading slightly in green but with caution after the Federal Reserve delivered a much-anticipated interest rate hike but flagged caution about inflation, tempering expectations for future tightening, which weighed on the dollar and Treasury yields. On the domestic front, traders remained concerned with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showing that India’s current account deficit (CAD) widened to 1.2 percent of GDP or $ 7.2 billion in July-September, from 0.6 percent of GDP or $ 3.4 billion reported in the same period a year ago. Meanwhile, the trade deficit widened to $ 32.8 billion in the previous quarter from $ 25.6 billion a year ago. Traders also remained on sidelines ahead of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data to be released later in the day.

On the global front, Asian markets exhibiting mixed trend, as the dollar maintained losses after the Federal Reserve raised its outlook for U.S. growth and held its forecast for the number of interest-rate increases next year amid benign inflation. The US markets ended higher in the last session, and the upward move on the day lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 reach new record highs.

Back home, the paper stocks remained in focus on report that paper and paperboard imports touched an all-time of 10.5 lakh tonnes in the first half of this fiscal, up 60 per cent from 6.5 lakh tonnes logged in the same period last year. In scrip specific developments, Dredging Corporation of India edged higher on inking pact with NHAI, while TIL surged on launching New Cranes & Reach Stacker at Excon 2017.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33102.96, up by 49.92 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 33003.53 and 33169.74. There were 17 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.30%, while Small cap index was up by 0.16%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 0.69%, Realty up by 0.63%, Energy up by 0.60%, Oil & Gas up by 0.56% and Healthcare was up by 0.49%, while Utilities down by 0.25%, Power down by 0.15% and FMCG was down by 0.01% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.96%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.07%, Lupin up by 0.95%, Infosys up by 0.85% and Reliance Industries up by 0.53%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.62%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 0.53%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.39%, Power Grid Corporation down by 0.35% and HDFC down by 0.26% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, highlighting the importance of port development, the industry chamber Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in its latest comprehensive study on ports has stated that India must boost its ports fast to make them globally competitive as the gap with China is widening rapidly. India’s total containerised cargo capacity of 8.75 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) at all its 12 major ports is less than total containerised cargo capacity of 36.5 million TEUs at China’s single port of Shanghai, making it imperative for the country to do a fast catching up.

According to the study titled ‘Indian ports sector: Challenges of scale and efficient operations’, China has four ports which handle more than 20 million TEUs. Even on the parameter of overall cargo, both with or without containerisation, India has a fragmented capacity at different ports. Noting that for India to remain competitive globally, the study said investment in port capacity is a must. It suggested that it would be appropriate to augment capacity of existing ports to create ports with large capacity of 100 million tonnes rather than building new ports and spreading resources thinly. It also stressed the need to revisit the Major Ports Trusts Act, 1963 with a view to modernise the institutional structure of major ports and to secure greater operational freedom for ports, in tune with present day requirements.

The study pointed out that handling of containerised cargo is a key indicator of a country’s integration with global supply chain for value-added manufactured goods. The industry chamber secretary general, D.S. Rawat has said that though Indian ports met rapidly expanding traffic, handling more than a billion tonne of cargo in 2016-17, the capacity is expected to go up to 2.5 billion tonnes by 2025. He added that the freight mainly comprises petrol, oil, and lubricant, coal, iron ore and other commodities. Referring to Odisha, Rawat said setting up 13 non-major ports along its 480 km-long coastline will further boost the prospect of port infrastructure, bring in investment, create thousands of jobs and also add to the revenues of the state exchequer.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10200.75, up by 7.80 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 10181.25 and 10230.65. There were 28 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index, while 2 stocks remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 2.06%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.83%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.31%, HCL Tech up by 1.21% and HPCL up by 1.11%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.85%, GAIL India down by 1.13%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.66%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.47% and Indusind Bank down by 0.47% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 15.27 points or 0.88% to 1,752.93, Jakarta Composite rose 24.46 points or 0.4% to 6,079.06, KOSPI Index added 30.74 points or 1.24% to 2,511.29 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 79.23 points or 0.76% to 10,549.93.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 decreased 99.72 points or 0.44% to 22,658.35, Shanghai Composite shed 6.73 points or 0.2% to 3,296.31 and Hang Seng was down by 5.98 points or 0.02% to 29,216.12.