Local bourses hold gains in early afternoon deals

Indian equity benchmarks held their gains in early afternoon session, on account of buying in frontline counters. Sentiments remained positive with Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu’s statement that India can benefit from the ongoing challenges in global trade provided it makes the right moves. His statement came in the wake of steadily escalating tensions between the world’s two largest economies -- China and US. The Minister added that the Indian government is taking steps to boost exports, industrial growth and manufacturing activities. Besides, the rupee’s appreciation against the dollar and widening of bets by investors amid optimism ahead of earnings season also supported the market. In scrip specific development, Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCI) was up by over half percent on bagging project management consultancy contract of Rs 21 crore from Power Grid of Bangladesh.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green, after Chinese President Xi Jinping eased worries over a simmering US trade conflict by promising new measures to open his country's massive economy 'wider and wider'. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33890.16, up by 101.62 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 33813.30 and 33949.98. There were 15 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.01%, while Small cap index was down by 0.08%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.71%, Bankex up by 0.92%, Basic Materials up by 0.70%, Capital Goods up by 0.70% and Realty up by 0.51%, while Auto down by 0.57%, Telecom down by 0.57%, Consumer Disc down by 0.33%, Oil & Gas down by 0.31% and Healthcare down by 0.20% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 4.63%, ICICI Bank up by 3.92%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 3.04%, Tata Steel up by 1.70% and Coal India up by 1.37%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.46%, Tata Motors down by 1.33%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.29%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.26% and Tata Motors - DVR down by 1.24% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid fears sparked by the ongoing crises in global trade, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has expressed hopes that India can benefit from the ongoing challenges in global trade provided it makes the right moves. He added that some countries are taking steps which are testing the entire global trading system. His statement came in the wake of steadily escalating tensions between the world’s two largest economies -- China and US. The decision of the US to impose duties on certain steel and aluminium products besides hiking tariffs against Chinese goods has triggered a global trade war, with China retaliating to the move.

Prabhu said “We are passing through a challenging but an opportune time. If we play our cards properly, and that is what we are trying to do, we can actually benefit from it by creating an opportunity around the issues that are happening globally. We have no choice but to respond in a positive manner”. He also said that the country must be ready to not only to face the challenge but also make that into an opportunity.

Talking about government initiatives, the Minister said that the Indian government is taking steps to boost exports, industrial growth and manufacturing activities. He also said that they are looking at a strategy to work multi-laterally as well as bilaterally to get greater market access of domestic products and services and boost India's exports. On economic growth front, he said that the Indian economy is growing at a faster pace, despite the global situation and would reach $5 trillion in the coming years

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10401.80, up by 22.45 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 10381.50 and 10424.85. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Axis Bank up by 4.43%, Hindalco up by 3.89%, ICICI Bank up by 3.72%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.69% and Tata Steel up by 1.89%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.64%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.51%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.44%, Tata Motors down by 1.42% and BPCL down by 1.33% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 1.93 points or 0.1% to 1,851.64, KOSPI Index was up by 6.66 points or 0.27% to 2,450.74, Taiwan Weighted added 33.65 points or 0.31% to 10,927.18, Shanghai Composite rose 37.19 points or 1.19% to 3,175.49, Jakarta Composite surged 40.65 points or 0.65% to 6,286.78, Nikkei 225 increased 116.06 points or 0.54% to 21,794.32 and Hang Seng inched up 477.72 points or 1.58% to 30,707.30.