Sensex, Nifty continue to trade in positive territory

Indian equity benchmarks continued their trade in positive territory in late afternoon session, with Sensex and Nifty gaining more than 200 and 50 points, respectively, aided by firm opening in European markets. Oil & Gas index remained top gainer among all the sectoral indices with gains of 0.78%, followed by IT and Energy, while HDFC Bank gained the most among major industry leaders on the BSE with gains of 2.84%. Domestic sentiments remained upbeat on the back of positive export data along with firm cues from other Asian markets. India’s special economic zones (SEZs) registered healthy growth in exports. As per the Export Promotion Council for EOUs & SEZs (EPCES) data, exports from the nations’ SEZs rose 5.44% to Rs 20,548 crore in the month of April 2018 as against Rs 19,488 crore in the same month a year ago. Optimism also spread on the street, after the CBIC laid down procedure that will address the problem of mismatch in refund claims, in order to fast-track clearance of exporters’ refund. Traders also took some support with Electronics and IT secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney’s statement that the government is likely to finalise new National Policy on Electronics in next couple of months, with an aim to boost design and innovation along with domestic production.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, as Italian worries abated and the White House said that preparations for the highly anticipated June 12 summit in Singapore are going well. Asian markets were also trading mostly in green. Back home, in scrip specific development, Viaan Industries was trading higher on launching a new real money skill-based game called 'Game of Dot' (G.O.D).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35117.78, up by 211.67 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 34926.08 and 35152.17. There were 18 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.33%, while Small cap index was down by 0.51%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 0.78%, IT up by 0.64%, Energy up by 0.54%, TECK up by 0.47% and Bankex up by 0.45%, while Power down by 0.97%, Industrials down by 0.71%, Realty down by 0.64%, Healthcare down by 0.56% and Auto down by 0.54% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC Bank up by 2.84%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.83%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.68%, ONGC up by 1.64% and Indusind Bank up by 1.60%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.09%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.91%, Tata Motors down by 1.80%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.70% and Axis Bank down by 1.28% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to boost design and innovation along with domestic production, Electronics and IT secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney has said that the government is likely to finalise new National Policy on Electronics in next couple of months. He also pointed that the country has huge opportunity to emerge in next generation devices which don’t exist at the moment and the government’s news policy will help to achieve this.

IT secretary noted that India must not only be positioned as a manufacturing hub but also as a hub for design innovation and manufacturing and to enable this, the new policy will take tremendous effort. He also listed the various sector specific electronics like medical electronics, automotive electronics, power electronics, defence electronics, in which huge scope is existed in India and added that the government has held wide consultation with industry players and other stakeholders to address their issues.

Besides, Sawhney underlined the problems faced by the country in agriculture, pollution, achieving swachhta goals and transportation which need to be solved, as it is fertile ground for innovation. He also said that there is tremendous potential for innovations for emergence of new devices and this is India’s decade.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10675.45, up by 61.10 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 10620.40 and 10679.45. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 3.99%, HDFC Bank up by 2.67%, ONGC up by 1.72%, GAIL India up by 1.71% and Indusind Bank up by 1.66%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.89%, Sun Pharma down by 1.84%, Hindalco down by 1.74%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.62% and Axis Bank down by 1.43% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; KOSPI Index increased 13.98 points or 0.58% to 2,423.01, Taiwan Weighted increased 53.79 points or 0.5% to 10,874.96, Shanghai Composite increased 54.03 points or 1.78% to 3,095.47, Nikkei 225 increased 183.3 points or 0.83% to 22,201.82 and Hang Seng increased 411.77 points or 1.37% to 30,468.56. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite decreased 50.02 points or 0.83% to 5,961.04.

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 22.08 points or 0.29% to 7,711.65 and France’s CAC increased 23.17 points or 0.43% to 5,450.52. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX decreased 26.44 points or 0.21% to 12,757.32.