Sensex, Nifty off day’s high

The local equity benchmarks lost most of their gains in late afternoon session to come off their day’s high points, amid lower opening in European markets, as the volatility increased ahead of the outcome of Federal Reserve's policy meeting due later today. Investors turned cautious with the private report stating that Indian firms are most concerned about the increase in protectionism across the world. The report noted that the perception of rising protectionism is much higher than the global average, where three in five (61 per cent) of the 6,000 companies surveyed, think that their governments are steadily moving towards protectionism. The market participants took note of another private report which stated that India remains vulnerable in its external position and risks are rising on the margin, they do not pose any concerns regarding macro stability yet and are quite manageable. However, the indices were managing to keep their heads in green terrain, amid a report that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 344.16 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases worth Rs 731.17 crore on March 20. Besides, the major industry gainers like Bharti Airtel, NTPC and Indusind Bank along with optimistic broader indices also supported the markets to remain in positive territory in late noon deals. 

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in red, as investors awaited a likely hike in US interest rates later in the day. Asian markets were also trading mixed. Back home, in scrip specific development, Idea Cellular gained on adding 44.24 lakh new mobile subscribers in February, 2018.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33071.28, up by 74.52 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 33070.53 and 33354.93. There were 15 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.21%, while Small cap index was up by 0.19%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.03%, Realty up by 0.78%, Utilities up by 0.50%, Capital Goods up by 0.40% and Power up by 0.34%, while Metal down by 0.86%, Healthcare down by 0.28%, Basic Materials down by 0.23%, Auto down by 0.16% and Oil & Gas down by 0.13% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 3.76%, NTPC up by 2.32%, Indusind Bank up by 1.37%, HDFC up by 1.10% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.99%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.76%, Tata Motors down by 1.68%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.14%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.09% and ICICI Bank down by 1.05% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, highlighting various benefits of waterways, Union Minister for Shipping Nitin Gadkari has stressed on the need to improve waterways in the country to cut down the cost of logistics. He added that push for water transportation will boost the economy and tourism sector, with the development of the country’s 7,500-km-long coastline as a corridor for goods and passenger traffic.

Gadkari noted that use of waterways is a win-win situation as it will help in reducing pollution and help foreign and domestic tourists travel to their hotel by boats. Besides, he said that as a result of this, diesel consumption will also get reduced and people will enjoy another facet of tourism by travelling on water.

The Union Minister also said that use of waterways is economical, environmental friendly and needs better utilization and suggested that all hotels should be linked to waterways by creating jetties everywhere. He further highlighted potentials of tourism sector in generating employment, saying that 49 per cent of the capital investment is utilised for job creation in this sector.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10139.40, up by 15.05 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 10132.95 and 10227.30. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 3.66%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.69%, NTPC up by 2.16%, Indusind Bank up by 1.33% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.28%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.74%, Tata Steel down by 1.71%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 1.67%, Tata Motors down by 1.58% and Bosch down by 1.46% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted increased 0.23 points or 0% to 11,011.07, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 6.04 points or 0.33% to 1,862.43 and Jakarta Composite increased 67.71 points or 1.08% to 6,311.29. On the flip side, Hang Seng decreased 135.41 points or 0.43% to 31,414.52, Shanghai Composite decreased 9.69 points or 0.29% to 3,280.95 and KOSPI Index decreased 0.55 points or 0.02% to 2,484.97.

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 12.24 points or 0.17% to 7,049.03 and France’s CAC decreased 1.95 points or 0.04% to 5,250.48. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX increased 29.21 points or 0.24% to 12,336.54.