Benchmarks trade in fine fettle in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks trade in fine fettle in early deals on Tuesday with frontline gauges inching towards their crucial 34,600 (Sensex) and 10,600 (Nifty) levels. Sentiments remained up-beat with the World Bank’s statement that India retained the top position as recipient of remittances with its diaspora sending about $69 billion back home last year. Remittances to India picked up sharply by 9.9 per cent, reversing the previous year’s dip, but were still short of $70.4 billion received in 2014. Some support also came with report that exports from special economic zones (SEZs) grew by about 15 percent to Rs 5.52 lakh crore in 2017-18. Export Promotion Council for EoUs and SEZs (EPCES) said that while the goods export from these zones stood at Rs 2.74 lakh crore in 2017-18, shipments of services aggregated to Rs 2.78 lakh crore in the last fiscal. Meanwhile, the government has finalised the new industrial policy, which is set to be announced soon. The new policy will replace the industrial policy of 1991 which was prepared in the backdrop of balance of payment crisis.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red at this point of time as tech continued to lean on indexes in South Korea and Taiwan, but a weaker yen boosted Japanese shares. The US markets ended lower on Monday as traders seemed somewhat reluctant to make more significant moves, however, as a number of big-name companies are due to report their results in the coming days.

Back home, information technology (IT) stocks remained buzzing as investors will react to Infosys’ analyst conference call, held after market hours on Monday. In scrip specific developments, Jubilant Life Sciences advanced on issuing Commercial Papers worth Rs 75 crore and Sunteck Realty edged higher on issuing Commercial Papers worth Rs 15 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 34597.14, up by 146.37 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 34465.49 and 34606.81. There were 20 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.51%, while Small cap index was up by 0.46%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.39%, Realty up by 0.89%, Bankex up by 0.78%, FMCG up by 0.75% and Energy up by 0.60%, while Metal down by 2.66%, Telecom down by 0.88%, Basic Materials down by 0.87%, IT down by 0.65% and TECK down by 0.65% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 3.16%, ICICI Bank up by 2.29%, Axis Bank up by 1.65%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.55% and Adani Ports up by 1.32%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 2.43%, Tata Steel down by 1.63%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.78%, TCS down by 0.69% and Power Grid Corporation down by 0.53% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with remittances from overseas Indians increasing nearly 10% in 2017, the World Bank in its latest Migration and Development Brief has stated that India retained the top position as the largest recipient of remittances. As per the report, remittances to India jumped 9.9% to about $69 billion in 2017, reversing the previous year’s dip of $62.7 billion in 2016, but were still short of $70.4 billion received in 2014. It estimated that officially recorded remittances to low-and middle-income countries reached $466 billion in 2017, with an increase of 8.5% over $429 billion in 2016. Besides, global remittances, which include flows to high-income countries, grew 7% to $613 billion last year, from $573 billion in 2016.

The report estimated that the upsurge is likely to continue into 2018 on the back of stronger economic conditions in advanced economies (particularly the US) and an increase in oil prices that should have a positive impact on the GCC countries. It added that remittances to the region will likely grow modestly by 2.5% to $120 billion in 2018. It stated that the stronger-than-expected rebound in remittances is supported by growth in Europe, Russia and the US. It also said that the recovery in remittances, when valued in US dollars, was driven by higher oil prices and a strengthening of euro and ruble.

According to the report, India continued to top in terms of receiving remittance, and was followed by China at $64 billion, the Philippines at $33 billion, Mexico at $31 billion, Nigeria at $22 billion, and Egypt at $20 billion. Besides, remittances to South Asia grew a moderate 5.8% to $117 billion. However, flows to Pakistan and Bangladesh were both largely flat in 2017, while Sri Lanka saw a small decline (-0.9%). Pakistan received $20 billion in remittances, whereas Bangladesh received $13 billion. Moreover, sub-Saharan Africa remains the most expensive place to send money to, where the average cost is 9.4%.

The World Bank further said that major barriers to reducing remittance costs are de-risking by banks and exclusive partnerships between national post office systems and money transfer operators. These factors constrain the introduction of more efficient technologies-such as internet and smartphone apps and the use of crypto currency and blockchain-in remittance services. It also said that while remittances are growing, countries, institutions, and development agencies must continue to chip away at high costs of remitting so that families receive more of the money.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10599.95, up by 15.25 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 10573.20 and 10609.85. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 3.21%, ICICI Bank up by 2.31%, Lupin up by 1.80%, Axis Bank up by 1.69% and Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.51%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 8.14%, Vedanta down by 3.51%, Wipro down by 2.74%, Bharti Infratel down by 2.21% and Tata Steel down by 1.83% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted decreased 97 points or 0.91% to 10,600.13, Jakarta Composite declined 66.81 points or 1.06% to 6,241.34, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI shed 10.24 points or 0.54% to 1,870.12 and KOSPI Index was down by 5.08 points or 0.21% to 2,469.03.

On the slip side, Shanghai Composite surged 63.5 points or 2.07% to 3,131.52, Nikkei 225 increased 173.78 points or 0.79% to 22,261.82 and Hang Seng up by 324.39 points or 1.07% to 30,578.79.