Markets recoup early losses to trade in green

Indian equity benchmarks erased all of its losses and entered into positive territory in late afternoon session, on the back of heavy buying in Metal, IT and TECK stocks. The markets took support with the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) latest report that growth in the Indian economy is expected to rebound to 7.3% in the fiscal year 2018 and will accelerate further to 7.6% in 2019, with the help of rise in productivity post Goods and Services Tax (GST) and investment revival on the back of banking reform. Adding some optimism on the street, World Economic Forum (WEF) President Borge Brende said that India can play a crucial role in shaping the global fourth industrial revolution agenda in a responsible, scalable and inclusive manner, as more than 50 percent of its population is below the age of 27. He also said that the advent of the fourth industrial revolution can help India leapfrog traditional phases of development and accelerate its transition to a developed nation. Some comfort also came with the commerce ministry’s statement that the government is working on an action plan to increase the growth rate at the district level by 3-4% per annum by accelerating economic activities. Besides, traders took note of a report stating that Indian retail inflation was expected to have eased to a five-month low in March as increases in food prices slowed once again but remained above the central bank's medium-term target. However, investors were cautious ahead of the earnings season, and as the US Federal Reserve will release minutes of its 20-21 March 2018 meeting on Wednesday.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, despite US shares rising sharply overnight, helped by positive comments from Chinese President Xi Jinping, rallying oil prices. However, Asian markets were trading in green. Back home, in scrip specific development, Tirupati Sarjan zoomed after the company has been awarded two contracts worth Rs 22.67 crore. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33955.60, up by 75.35 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 33750.74 and 33981.54. There were 19 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.15%, while Small cap index was up by 0.12%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.51%, IT up by 1.22%, TECK up by 1.05%, Consumer Durables up by 0.91% and Auto up by 0.51%, while Oil & Gas down by 2.08%, PSU down by 1.63%, Bankex down by 0.55%, Energy down by 0.38% and Utilities down by 0.37% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 2.31%, TCS up by 2.23%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.80%, Reliance Industries up by 1.36% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.11%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 2.27%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 2.19%, SBI down by 1.92%, Axis Bank down by 1.25% and ICICI Bank down by 1.23% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to help India become a $5 trillion economy, the commerce ministry has said that the government is working on an action plan to increase the growth rate at the district level by 3-4 percent per annum by accelerating economic activities.

The Ministry has said that the government’s focus will be on converging government and private initiatives, and introducing mechanism for handholding and mentoring. Besides, it mentioned about  various plans to achieve this aim such as few districts including Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Varanasi and Vishakhapatnam, across different states will be selected in phase 1 of the pilot project and profile of the districts will be created, identifying strengths and local resources, to incorporate it with different sectors and verticals.

Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu also expressed the need of a bottom-up approach to push growth further and noted that districts should be considered as planning and execution units, which will be facilitating change at micro level. He also directed the officials to create an Action Plan in this regard at the earliest.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10414.40, up by 12.15 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 10355.60 and 10428.15. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Vedanta up by 3.63%, Eicher Motors up by 2.46%, TCS up by 2.13%, Sun Pharma up by 2.07% and HCL Technologies up by 1.90%. On the flip side, HPCL down by 7.17%, BPCL down by 7.07%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 6.41%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 2.35% and Yes Bank down by 2.32% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 10.01 points or 0.54% to 1,870.99, Shanghai Composite increased 17.76 points or 0.56% to 3,208.08, Jakarta Composite increased 32.99 points or 0.52% to 6,358.81, Taiwan Weighted increased 46.84 points or 0.43% to 10,974.02 and Hang Seng increased 168.97 points or 0.55% to 30,897.71. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 decreased 107.22 points or 0.49% to 21,687.10 and KOSPI Index decreased 6.52 points or 0.27% to 2,444.22.

All European markets were trading in red; Germany’s DAX decreased 30.46 points or 0.25% to 12,366.86, France’s CAC decreased 14.24 points or 0.27% to 5,293.32 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 6.6 points or 0.09% to 7,260.15.