Bourses continue to trade in positive territory

Key benchmark indices continued to trade in positive territory in early afternoon session, backed by sustained buying in Telecom, Power, FMCG and Industrials stocks. Sentiments remained positive with Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) decision to relax entry norms for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) willing to invest in the Indian markets. Besides, SEBI would allow listing of security receipts issued by an asset reconstruction company (ARC) on stock exchange platform. Additional support also came with the private report stating that consumer confidence in India is likely to remain high over the next six months with a very optimistic outlook. The markets were also getting some support from the positive Asian bourses. However, the upside remained capped with a study report of the industry body Assocham, which stated that a slowdown in the economy coupled with high stress level in the banking sector is expected to restrict credit growth at around 8 per cent during the current fiscal despite government’s thrust on loan expansion. In the currency front, the rupee emerged strong in early trade, and was trading at 63.87 against US Dollar, higher by 21 paise. In scrip specific development, Tata Power was up by over a percent with Tata Power Delhi Distribution (TPDDL) inking MoU with PFC Consulting (PFCCL) for jointly exploring opportunities in electricity distribution sector in the country.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after Wall Street finished with modest gains. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33989.62, up by 141.59 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 33889.39 and 34031.26. 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 0.58%, while Small cap index was up by 0.63%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.53%, Power up by 0.93%, FMCG up by 0.80%, Industrials up by 0.76% and Auto up by 0.75%, while Metal down by 0.56%, Oil & Gas down by 0.33% and Energy down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors - DVR up by 1.94%, Asian Paints up by 1.82%, Tata Motors up by 1.67%, NTPC up by 1.28% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.17%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 0.93%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.43%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.36%, Reliance Industries down by 0.13% and HDFC Bank down by 0.09% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that the government think-tank Niti Aayog  is working on a policy to bring down the annual oil import bill by $100 billion by the year 2030 through extensive use of methanol in cooking gas and transportation fuel. He also said that the government will be soon announcing a policy which calls for 15% blending of methanol in petrol and will also reduce the cost of the fuel by 10 percent. Besides, he noted that India is the world's third-largest oil importer and the government has been making efforts to bring down imports by using methanol as an alternative fuel.

Gadkari further said that the final roadmap for 'Methanol Economy' being worked out by NITI Aaayog is targeting an annual reduction of $100 billion by 2030 in crude imports in line with PM's vision. He said that to promote this renewable, alternate fuel, a 'Methanol Economy Fund' is also being contemplated. He stated that a cabinet note on methanol in inland waterways and marine sector and overall adaptation of Methanol Economy will be moved shortly. Besides, he said that use of methanol can result in great environmental benefits and its extensive use can reduce consumption of diesel by at least 20 percent in next 5-7 years. He noted that 20 percent blending of methanol with cooking fuel LPG will be low hanging fruit as it would result in immediate savings of Rs 6,000 crore a year.

Regarding the possible use of methanol in Railways, the minister said that it can result in 50 percent reduction in its diesel bills. He indicated that Indian Railways consumes about 3 billion litres of diesel every year, for which it has to foot a bill of over Rs 15,000 crore annually. Adding further, he said that India will convert about 50 vessels in the Port sector and various vessels owned by government entities to operate on methanol and added that the country has a huge potential of producing methanol. He also pointed out that the country needs around 2,900 crore litres of petrol and 9,000 crore litres of diesel per year with an import bill on account of crude oil standing at almost Rs 6 lakh crore, which the government wants to bring down.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10515.75, up by 37.85 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 10488.65 and 10527.10. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Infratel up by 2.05%, Asian Paints up by 1.93%, HCL Tech. up by 1.71%, Tata Motors up by 1.65% and TCS up by 1.45%. On the flip side, HPCL down by 1.40%, GAIL India down by 1.34%, Hindalco down by 1.20%, BPCL down by 1.17% and Wipro down by 0.94% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 1.26 points or 0.07% to 1,780.36, Shanghai Composite was up by 7.2 points or 0.22% to 3,303.59, Jakarta Composite surged 49.02 points or 0.78% to 6,363.07, Hang Seng rose 66.17 points or 0.22% to 29,929.88 and Taiwan Weighted added 75.22 points or 0.71% to 10,642.86.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was down by 19.04 points or 0.08% to 22,764.94.