Markets continue choppy trade; broader indices perform better

Key Indian benchmarks continued their choppy trade in late morning session, with Sensex and Nifty trading with minor gains, amid mixed Asian cues. Heavy buying in Capital Goods, Industrials, Healthcare and Power stocks along with firm broader indices, were providing support to the indices to keep their head above water. Some support also came with the report that the Union Cabinet has approved the Consumer Protection Bill, 2017, paving the way for its introduction in Parliament. The Bill enforces consumer rights and provides a mechanism for redressal of complaints regarding defect in goods and deficiency in services. However, gains were limited as investors remained concerned as RBI Governor Urjit Patel flagged concerns over rising global oil prices and uncertainties on fiscal and external fronts. On the sectoral front, aviation stocks were trading mostly in red, amid credit rating agency, Crisil’s latest report enlightening that two major headwinds – crippling infrastructure constraints at major airports, and an uptick in fuel prices – are likely to impact passenger growth in the domestic sector in the next few years.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed in a muted reaction to passage of major US tax reform overnight. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives gave final approval to the largest overhaul of the US tax code in 30 years and cut $1.5 trillion in taxes. Back home, in scrip specific development, Hero MotoCorp gained after the company unveiled three new motorcycles -- the 125cc Super Splendor, the 110cc Passion PRO and the 110cc Passion XPRO.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33785.65, up by 8.27 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 33748.82 and 33860.99. There were 16 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.54%, while Small cap index was up by 0.86%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.42%, Industrials up by 0.98%, Healthcare up by 0.95%, Power up by 0.73% and Utilities up by 0.67%, while Auto down by 0.40%, Bankex down by 0.20%, FMCG down by 0.17%, Consumer Durables down by 0.08% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 1.99%, Sun Pharma up by 1.52%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.21%, Tata Steel up by 0.78% and NTPC up by 0.76%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.76%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.87%, Infosys down by 0.58%, Axis Bank down by 0.52% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.39% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in a bid to create more jobs in the labour-intensive textile sector, the Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval to the Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector (SCBTS). The new scheme will be applicable from 2017-2018 to 2019-2020 with an outlay of Rs 1,300 crore. It will cover the textile sector’s entire value chain excluding spinning and weaving in the organised sector. Under the scheme, about 10 lakh people are expected to be skilled and certified in various segments of the textile sector through the scheme, out of which 1 lakh will be in traditional sectors. Besides, at least 70 percent of the certified trainees are to be placed in the wage employment and post-placement tracking will be mandatory under the scheme.

The SCBTS will have a National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) compliant training courses with funding norms as per the Common Norms notified by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). The objectives of the scheme are to provide demand driven, placement-oriented skilling programme to incentivise the efforts of the industry in creating jobs in the organised textile and related sectors. It is also aimed at promoting skilling and skill up-gradation in the traditional sectors through the Ministry of Textiles and providing livelihood to all sections of the society across the country. The skilling programmes would be implemented through textile industry/units in order to meet the in-house requirement of manpower.

Further, SCBTS will be rolled out through reputed training institutions relevant to textile sector having placement tie- ups with textile industry or units, and institutions of the Ministry of Textiles or state governments having placement tie-ups with textile industry or units. Under the scheme, job role wise skilling targets will be based on skill gap identified for various levels including entry-level courses, up-skilling/re-skilling (supervisor, managerial training, advanced courses for adapting technology etc), recognition of prior learning (RPL). It will be implemented for the benefit of all sections of the society across the country including rural, remote, LWE affected, North East, J&K by imparting skills in the identified job roles.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10449.50, up by 5.30 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 10439.55 and 10473.95. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Larsen & Toubro up by 1.83%, Hindalco up by 1.72%, Sun Pharma up by 1.46%, Ambuja Cement up by 1.12% and HCL Tech. up by 1.05%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.84%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.08%, Infosys down by 0.87%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.75% and Vedanta down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 0.46 points or 0.03% to 1,747.09, Shanghai Composite increased 14.65 points or 0.45% to 3,302.26, Jakarta Composite increased 62.34 points or 1.02% to 6,171.82 and Hang Seng increased 117.34 points or 0.4% to 29,351.43.

On the flip side, KOSPI Index decreased 37.91 points or 1.53% to 2,434.46, Nikkei 225 decreased 8.6 points or 0.04% to 22,883.12 and Taiwan Weighted decreased 3.75 points or 0.04% to 10,500.77.