Key gauges trim gains to trade marginally in green

Indian benchmarks trimmed some of their initial gains in late morning session but managed to remain in green territory, after US Federal Reserve announced the widely-expected hike in key lending rate. Some support came with foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 98.44 crore, while DIIs purchases equities to the tune of Rs 197.78 crore on March 21, 2018. Meanwhile, the government has extended the facility of hiring workers on fixed-term employment to all sectors to improve the ease of doing business, meeting the announcement made in the Union Budget. It has also given in to a major demand of the trade unions - that no permanent employee be moved to fixed term employment.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as investors assessed the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision, traders also remained optimistic US Federal Open Market Committee hiked the federal funds rate target range by 25 basis points to 1.50-1.75%, as expected, and continued to suggest that it may raise interest rates a total of three times in 2018. Back home, Pharma index was trading higher led by a rise in the shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Piramal Enterprises. In scrip specific development, Coal India rises on planning to set up plants for coal gasification and its further processing into downstream chemicals, with an aim to promote environment-friendly uses of coal.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33185.40, up by 49.22 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 33107.32 and 33281.77. There were 14 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index slipped 0.49%, while Small cap index was down by 0.43%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 0.52%, Consumer Durables up by 0.49%, FMCG up by 0.06%, Oil & Gas up by 0.03% and Healthcare was up by 0.02%, while Power down by 0.73%, Telecom down by 0.63%, PSU down by 0.57%, Realty down by 0.40% and Utilities was down by 0.39% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 2.34%, Reliance Industries up by 1.20%, Tata Motors up by 1.11%, Sun Pharma up by 1.04% and Indusind Bank was up by 0.89%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.59%, Adani Ports down by 1.25%, ICICI Bank down by 1.05%, SBI down by 1.05% and Mahindra & Mahindra was down by 0.97% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, global credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Services in its latest report has said that India’s steel industry is yet to introduce extra stringent emission rules and increased coal utilization poses a serious problem to the potential for carbon mitigation. In addition, it noted that the imposition of tariffs under Section 232 on steel imported into the US is likely to result in some capacity restarts. Besides, it said that the global steel industry's progress in lowering emissions and energy use continues to be limited. It pointed out that the challenge for the industry will be to lower carbon intensity at a time when demand for steel is estimated to grow 31 percent by the year 2030, from 2016 levels. 

The US-based agency mentioned that the World Steel Association reports CO2 intensity has increased by more than 10 percent, to 1.9 tonnes per tonne of steel manufactured over the past decade, while energy intensity has fallen modestly. It also noted that under the Paris agreement, India has agreed to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33-35% by 2030 from 2005 levels. Adding further, it said that potentially offsetting the benefits of China's rationalisation is the expected doubling of Indian steel production by 2030, challenging the industry's efforts to correct overcapacity and reduce carbon intensity.

According to the report, India's anticipated steel growth is due to the country's rapid urbanisation, large infrastructure needs, and an increasing preference for steel and cement over materials such as clay bricks. It also said that steel making is likely to become less carbon intensive as new mills are built and more scrap becomes available, however coal is expected to remain the dominant energy source for the sector. It noted that steel-makers across the globe are facing increasing pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It added that efforts to decarbonise the global economy will bring greater scrutiny to the energy and carbon intensity of the steel sector, which is responsible for 6-7 percent of global emissions.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10166.60, up by 11.35 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 10147.40 and 10207.85. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 2.42%, Indiabulls Housing up by 1.52%, Reliance Industries up by 1.25%, Tata Motors up by 1.21% and Eicher Motors was up by 1.07%. On the flip side, HPCL down by 2.76%, BPCL down by 2.55%, Tata Steel down by 1.64%, Indian Oil down by 1.39% and Aurobindo Pharma was down by 1.28% were the top losers.

Asian markets were mostly trading in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI raised by 7.31 points or 0.39% to 1,873.11, KOSPI Index surged 10.94 points or 0.44% to 2,495.91, Jakarta Composite soared 11.96 points or 0.19% to 6,324.79 and Nikkei 225 gained 166.54 points or 0.78% to 21,547.51. On the other flip, Hang Seng slipped 182.02 points or 0.58% to 31,232.50, Taiwan Weighted declined 31.75 points or 0.29% to 10,979.32 and Shanghai Composite was down by 25.66 points or 0.78% to 3,255.30.