Domestic equity indices continue to trade in positive terrain

Mirroring strong global cues, domestic equity indices continued to show a positive trend in late morning session. Sentiments remained upbeat with a private report stating that India will claim the top spot among the world's fastest-growing major economies this year, but rising trade tensions between the United States and China may restrain that growth. The latest poll, taken April 11-18, predicted India's economy will expand 7.4 percent in the fiscal year that began this month. Traders took note of another private report which stated that India and Sweden have signed a joint innovation partnership and agreed on a joint action plan with a seed money of $6 million. Taking forward their defence cooperation including joint production the two sides decided to strengthen their defence partnership. Meanwhile, a report stated that the Reserve Bank of India is expected to go for a 25 basis points rate cut in key rates, due to normal monsoon forecast from Indian Meteorological Department.  Traders shrugged off former finance minister P Chidambaram’s statement that the ‘ghost’ of demonetisation has come back to haunt the government and alleged that the Rs 2,000 notes were printed only to help hoarders.

On the global front Asian markets were trading in green, as energy firms tracked a surge in oil prices, while fears over Syria and a possible China-US trade war eased. Also Investors were hoping that Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un will hold a historic summit within months also provided some much-needed optimism. Back home, in the scrip specific developments, Sadbhav Infrastructure strengthened on planning to raise Rs 170 crore through Non?convertible Debentures on Private Placement basis. Besides, UltraTech Cement gained on commissioning Greenfield Factory in South-West Madhya Pradesh.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 34431.64, up by 99.96 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 34386.89 and 34478.82. There were 19 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.36%, while Small cap index was up by 0.38%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.68%, Basic Materials up by 2.47%, IT up by 0.88%, TECK up by 0.86% and Realty was up by 0.66%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.96%, Consumer Durables down by 0.81%, Energy down by 0.22%, PSU down by 0.19% and Bankex was down by 0.05% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 3.03%, Yes Bank up by 2.10%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.03%, ONGC up by 1.49% and Larsen & Toubro was up by 1.35%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 1.38%, HDFC down by 0.56%, ICICI Bank down by 0.40%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.32% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 0.30% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has promised exporters of taking up the Goods and Service Tax (GST) refund issue with the Finance Ministry. He said exporters have claimed that over 60 percent of their refunds are still stuck with the government and also complained that the delay in GST refund has blocked their working capital. In order to address the issues, he has asked exporters to provide details of pending refund.

The minister has said that apart from refunds, exporters also raised issues related to increasing logistics costs and inadequate infrastructure at ports. Further, he indicated that the government has sanctioned GST refunds to exporters to the tune of Rs 17,616 crore till March. He noted that of this, Rs 9,604 crore is on account of integrated GST refund and another Rs 5,510 crore is on a ccount of refund on input credit. He added that another Rs 34,000 crore has been refunded on account of duty drawback and Rebate of State Levies (ROSL).

Prabhu further stated that Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) is of the view that the refund filing mechanism should be made fully online and the pending GST refund released immediately to help exporters tide over the cash crunch. Besides, he asked FIEO members to prepare a detailed action plan of all sectors and sub-sectors suggesting ways to promote their exports. He said that the Centre is also involving States to further boost the country’s exports. He also informed that a ministerial meeting would be held to discuss issues pertaining to outbound shipments.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10563.70, up by 37.50 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 10547.10 and 10568.90. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 5.66%, Vedanta up by 5.63%, Ultratech Cement up by 3.90%, Tata Steel up by 3.16% and Bharti Airtel was up by 2.06%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 5.22%, HPCL down by 5.10%, Indian Oil Corp. down by 3.33%, Titan Co down by 2.21% and Axis Bank was down by 1.48% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets were trading in green, KOSPI Index rose by 5.02 points or 0.2% to 2,485.00, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 8.9 points or 0.47% to 1,888.22, Jakarta Composite surged 13.84 points or 0.22% to 6,333.85, Shanghai Composite soared 26.25 points or 0.85% to 3,117.65, Nikkei 225 strengthened 46.95 points or 0.21% to 22,205.15, Taiwan Weighted advanced 123.33 points or 1.14% to 10,971.22 and Hang Seng was up by 383.64 points or 1.27% to 30,667.89.