Markets off day’s high

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some of their early gains in late afternoon session to come off intraday high points, on the back of weak opening in European markets. Besides, heavy selling at Metal counter along with the major bank losers such as ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, weighted on the domestic sentiments. Anxiety spread on the street , as foreign investors have pulled out nearly Rs 8,000 crore from the Indian capital markets so far this month due to 'considerable' volatility in global markets on account of the ongoing trade negotiations and firming up of bond yields. The market participants turned cautious with PHD Chamber’s report that roadblocks such as delay in GST refunds and after effects of note ban hit India's export prospects in 2017-18 amid a revival in global demand mainly in key markets of the US and the EU. Some concerns also came with a report that with the Reserve Bank giving no relaxation to its February 12 framework on resolution of stressed assets, banks are likely to become more cautious and risk-averse to long-term funding, especially to the infrastructure sector. Traders took note of Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report stating that a high-octane trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies -- the US and China -- will harm global trade this year as it would give rise to protectionism. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund said that the world’s debt load has ballooned to a record $164 trillion, a trend that could make it harder for countries to respond to the next recession and pay off debts if financing conditions tighten.

However, the key indices managed to keep their heads in green terrain, supported by Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg’s statement that India is poised to remain world’s fastest-growing large economy and it is on track to doubling the size of its economy to $5 trillion by the year 2025, as the economic reforms adopted over last few years and started yielding positive results. Some support also came with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel expressing hope that India’s pace of economic growth will accelerate in the fiscal year 2018-19. He noted that the country’s economy turned in a resilient performance in 2017-18.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, as investors reacted to fresh corporate earnings, while keeping an eye on geopolitics and oil. Asian markets were also trading in red. Back home, in scrip specific development, Salasar Techno Engineering traded higher on receiving new orders worth Rs 49 crore from leading telecom players in India and Nepal.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 34527.97, up by 112.39 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 34259.27 and 34663.95. There were 19 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.41%, while Small cap index was up by 0.68%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.61%, IT up by 1.50%, Healthcare up by 1.32%, TECK up by 1.24% and Oil & Gas up by 0.85% while, Metal down by 0.46% and FMCG down by 0.17% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 3.40%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.59%, Yes Bank up by 1.72%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.67% and Sun Pharma up by 1.40%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.26%, HDFC Bank down by 1.04%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 1.02%, ONGC down by 0.74% and Hero MotoCorp down by 0.73% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, praising the government for doing well in the area of reforms, the Director of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Asia and Pacific Department, Changyong Rhee has said that global investors feel that the Indian elephant is now ready to run after four years of impressive economic reforms. However, he pointed out that the country need to implement these reforms and should have a sound banking sector balance sheet for a steady growth path.

Changyong Rhee noted that Indian economic growth is higher than China and added that many countries are looking at India, whether India can be another growth leader as China in recent decades. He is also expecting that the India’s improving economy would maintain global and regional growth, as China's growth rate has come down. However, he said that India has to open up more with the high growth and added that the country has to have more international linkages.

IMF’s director also said that they hope continued momentum in structural reforms during the election period, noting that this will determine India's future. Besides, he said that once the elephant starts running, it would have a positive impact on the global economy.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10608.90, up by 44.85 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 10514.95 and 10638.35. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 3.33%, HCL Tech. up by 3.21%, BPCL up by 3.12%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.03% and HPCL up by 2.66%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 1.68%, Grasim Industries down by 1.60%, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 1.59%, UPL down by 1.17% and Bharti Infratel down by 1.13% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in red; Hang Seng decreased 163.93 points or 0.54% to 30,254.40, Taiwan Weighted decreased 82.25 points or 0.76% to 10,697.13, Nikkei 225 decreased 74.2 points or 0.33% to 22,088.04, Jakarta Composite decreased 33.13 points or 0.52% to 6,304.56, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 7.36 points or 0.39% to 1,880.39, Shanghai Composite decreased 3.53 points or 0.11% to 3,068.01 and KOSPI Index decreased 2.22 points or 0.09% to 2,474.11.

All European markets were trading in red; Germany’s DAX decreased 40.24 points or 0.32% to 12,500.26, France’s CAC decreased 15.26 points or 0.28% to 5,397.57 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 5.19 points or 0.07% to 7,362.98.