Domestic equities maintain uptrend in late morning session

Domestic equities maintained their uptrend in late morning session, with Sensex and Nifty garnering gains of around quarter a percent, taking cues from their global counterparts. Traders’ sentiments remained optimistic with a report stating that India is projected to have a skilled labour surplus of 245 million workers by 2030, mainly on the back of ‘vast supply of working age citizens’, even as most of the developed and developing economies are expected to grapple with talent crunch at that time. Some optimism also came with finance ministry’s statement that World Bank will provide a $200 million loan to help the government achieve its goal of reducing stunting in children 0-6 years of age from 38.4 per cent to 25 per cent by the year 2022. The Government of India signed a loan deal worth $200 million with the World Bank for the National Nutrition Mission. Traders also took some encouragement with Union Minister Suresh Prabhu’s statement that the commerce ministry has decided to formulate a comprehensive action plan to boost India's trade with Africa which is relatively small at present. A series of engagements have been lined up in different parts of Africa to discuss ways to promote trade and investments between the two regions. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, ahead of an announcement by US President Donald Trump on whether he would withdraw from a landmark nuclear deal with Iran, which fueled concerns about crude supply. Back home, in scrip specific development, Lupin gained on receiving USFDA approval for generic Temovate Ointment. Besides, Vijaya Bank strengthened on reporting marginal rise in Q4 net profit.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35287.03, up by 78.89 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 35235.88 and 35388.87. There were 17 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.12%, while Small cap index was up by 0.31%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.03%, Energy up by 0.72%, Oil & Gas up by 0.62%, Realty up by 0.52% and FMCG was up by 0.33%, while Capital Goods down by 0.28%, Consumer Durables down by 0.23%, Auto down by 0.20%, Utilities down by 0.17% and TECK was down by 0.14% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 7.27%, Axis Bank up by 1.18%, TCS up by 1.15%, Coal India up by 0.84% and ITC was up by 0.83%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.16%, Indusind Bank down by 1.91%, Infosys down by 1.09%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.01% and Tata Motors was down by 0.98% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to discuss ways to promote exports, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has called a meeting of various departments, including finance and textiles. The meeting would deliberate upon ways on sectoral export promotion strategy. The meeting assumes importance as India's merchandise exports in March fell after a gap of four months.

The outbound shipments increased by 9.78 percent to $302.84 billion in 2017-18 from $275.85 billion in the previous fiscal, but in March, exports contracted by 0.66 percent to $29.11 billion. Besides, petroleum products, carpet, jute items, readymade garments, gems and jewellery, iron, ore, meat, dairy and poultry products, oil meals and oil seeds were among the products that witnessed a decline in March. To boost the country’s exports, the commerce ministry is taking appropriate steps such as involving states and promoting ease of doing business. States such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Karnataka contribute significantly to the exports.

Further, officials from different ministries and departments including petroleum, civil aviation, agriculture, pharmaceutical, MSME, telecommunication, skill development, mines and electronics and information technology would participate in the meeting.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10734.90, up by 19.40 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 10707.55 and 10758.55. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ICICI Bank up by 7.11%, HPCL up by 2.61%, Eicher Motors up by 2.11%, TCS up by 1.22% and Grasim Industries was up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.17%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.12%, Hindalco down by 1.14%, Infosys down by 1.13% and Larsen & Toubro was down by 1.08% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 13.4 points or 0.73% to 1,841.60, Shanghai Composite surged 21.7 points or 0.69% to 3,158.34, Nikkei 225 rose 25.56 points or 0.11% to 22,492.72, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 86.47 points or 0.82% to 10,691.38 and Hang Seng was up by 363.55 points or 1.21% to 30,357.80.

On the other hand, Jakarta Composite slipped 124.75 points or 2.12% to 5,760.35 and KOSPI Index was down by 6.04 points or 0.25% to 2,455.34.