Sensex, Nifty trade volatile

Indian equity benchmarks were trading volatile in late afternoon session, with Sensex and Nifty holding marginal gains of 19 and 6 points respectively, amid mixed cues from European markets. Domestic sentiments got hit with a foreign brokerages’ report stating that rise in oil prices may lead to inflationary trends in the country, forcing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to hike rates by 0.25% in the August policy review. It further noted that the apex bank, however, may opt for a status quo in rates at the forthcoming review in June. Besides, anxiety remained among the investors with State Bank of India’s (SBI) research report Ecowrap that India’s current account deficit is expected to widen to 2.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the financial year 2018-19, on the back of rise in the crude oil prices.

However, the indices managed to hold their heads above water in noon deals, supported by positive economic growth forecasts. ICRA in its latest report has forecasted that India’s GDP growth is expected to improve to 7.4% in January-March quarter of 2017-18 (Q4FY18) from 7.2% in Q3FY18, while NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar has expressed confidence that Indian economy will grow at the rate of 9% on sustained basis by 2022, on account of the government’s various reform measures like Goods and Service Tax (GST), demonetization, recapitalisation of bank and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Further, the broader markets were performing better than the larger peers with the notable gains. Meanwhile, the central government’s capital expenditure in April 2018 saw a jump of 48% compared with the same month last year, the consequence of a second consecutive year of an advanced budget.

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in green, as investors continued to monitor fresh corporate earnings. However, gains remained capped as investors fret over political uncertainty in Italy. Markets have been spooked by surging borrowing costs in Italy after the country's populist parties selected Giuseppe Conte, a little-known civil law professor with a long resume, as their candidate for prime minister. However, Asian markets were trading in red. Back home, in scrip specific development, Mahindra & Mahindra gained on planning to raise funds by way of issuance of Securities including but not limited to secured/unsecured redeemable Non-convertible Debentures (NCDs) under Private Placement basis for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 5,000 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 34635.41, up by 19.28 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 34550.22 and 34754.60. There were 17 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.36%, while Small cap index was up by 0.56%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.69%, Metal up by 1.04%, Realty up by 0.95%, Industrials up by 0.89% and Consumer Disc up by 0.77%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.40%, Energy down by 0.19%, IT down by 0.15%, FMCG down by 0.15% and Consumer Durables down by 0.08% were the losing top indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 3.96%, Bajaj Auto up by 3.49%, Coal India up by 3.02%, SBI up by 2.77% and Tata Motors - DVR up by 1.94%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.35%, TCS down by 1.30%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.29%, ITC down by 1.10% and HDFC down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, pointing out to India’s averaged economic growth rate of 8.3% during period of 2003-11, NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar has expressed confidence that Indian economy will grow at the rate of 9% on sustained basis by 2022, on account of the government’s various reform measures like Goods and Service Tax (GST), demonetization, recapitalisation of bank and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

NITI Aayog vice-chairman also hoped that farmer’s income can be doubled with the government’s ongoing pilot projects. He further expressed need to promote electric vehicles in the country, noting that this is best time as petrol prices are rising.

Earlier, highlighting India’s diverse nature with ability to offer many types of investment opportunities, Rajiv Kumar had said that foreign investors should develop state specific strategy for investments in India. Besides, he said that a whole startup ecosystem has come up in India, so UK should set up technological hub in India.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10523.15, up by 6.45 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 10490.55 and 10558.60. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 4.09%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.46%, Bajaj Auto up by 3.32%, SBI up by 3.09% and Coal India up by 2.96%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 2.56%, Cipla down by 1.77%, Bharti Infratel down by 1.76%, Asian Paints down by 1.47% and Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.47% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 decreased 42.03 points or 0.18% to 22,960.34, Taiwan Weighted decreased 27.47 points or 0.25% to 10,938.73 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 7.83 points or 0.42% to 1,845.75. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite increased 0.51 points or 0.02% to 3,214.35 and Jakarta Composite increased 32.81 points or 0.57% to 5,766.66.

European markets were trading mostly in green; Germany’s DAX increased 2.28 points or 0.02% to 13,080.00 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 15.23 points or 0.19% to 7,874.40. On the flip side, France’s CAC decreased 3.05 points or 0.05% to 5,634.46.