Benchmarks continue to trade in positive territory

Indian equity benchmarks continued their trade in positive territory in morning session, with gains of around half a percent. Market-men took some support from the Confederation of Indian Industry’ (CII) poll which highlighted that investment in the country is likely to get a strong boost with the economy set to grow past the 7% mark in the current fiscal year. Traders also took encouragement from a private report stating that Government and RBI have been working on empowering MSMEs. After special schemes to support the segment, the government also announced the allocation of 3 lakh crores to MUDRA Bank under the scheme during the budget. Sentiments got a boost with report that the gross foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into India touched a record $62 billion in the last fiscal, raising the level of such investments in the four years of the NDA regime to $223 billion, against $152 billion in the previous four years. Investors took note of a report that the rollout of new steel policy saved forex of Rs 5,000 crore since last year while around 24 million tonnes of crude steel capacity was added during past four years. India also replaced Japan as the second largest steel producer this year.

On the global front, Asian market were trading mostly in green, shrugging off the cautious mood seen earlier as investors focused on a mix of trade tensions and a landmark meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Investors kept an eye on trade tensions between the US and its traditional allies, including Canada and the European Union. Back on domestic turf, Punjab National Bank trading in green with report that it is hopeful of Rs 8,000 crore recovery from bad loans in the first quarter of the current fiscal. The bank, with its focus on recovery of dues from defaulters, has managed to surpass the total amount recovered in the last fiscal in the first two months of this financial year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35612.79, up by 169.12 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 35471.07 and 35653.96. There were 25 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.57%, while Small cap index was up by 0.87%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.79%, Healthcare up by 1.54%, Consumer Durables up by 1.51%, FMCG up by 0.90% and Capital Goods was up by 0.86%, while there were no losers on BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 3.16%, Sun Pharma up by 2.77%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 2.65%, Yes Bank up by 1.75% and SBI was up by 1.65%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.26%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 0.59%, Tata Motors down by 0.56%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.30% and ONGC was down by 0.29% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to double the income of farmers and animal rearers, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has said that the Union government has been working consistently from the past 4 years. Under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission Yojana, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat along with Radha Mohan Singh laid the foundation stone of the Sex Sorted Semen laboratory at Deep Frozen Semen Production Centre Shyampur, Rishikesh. The lab is billed as the first such state institution in the country where the technique of producing female calf through artificial insemination in animals will be developed.

Chief Minister of Uttarakhand said the Rashtriya Gokul Mission is to conserve the indigenous cow breeds and enhance their milk productivity. The sex sorted semen laboratory being set up in Rishikesh will play an important role in this and further said that through animal husbandry, the target of doubling farmers’ income can also be achieved.

Besides, the agriculture minister stated that Animal husbandry is the backbone of the rural economy but there is lack of productivity in the sector and adding that a laboratory of this kind will help increase milk production and boost farmers’ income. He also said that it is because of the government’s efforts that more than 700 agricultural scientists in the country have come out of laboratories and reached field level for ground testing.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10817.90, up by 50.25 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 10777.60 and 10834.50. There were 35 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 2.94%, Sun Pharma up by 2.82%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 2.60%, Lupin up by 1.94% and Yes Bank was up by 1.70%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.04%, Tata Motors down by 0.55%, UPL down by 0.54%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 0.43% and ONGC was down by 0.40% were the top losers.

Asian market were trading mostly in green, Taiwan Weighted surged 0.66 points or 0.01% to 11,157.08, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 9.66 points or 0.54% to 1,787.98, KOSPI Index advanced 13.45 points or 0.55% to 2,465.03, Hang Seng rose 97.44 points or 0.31% to 31,055.65 and Nikkei 225 was up by 141.04 points or 0.62% to 22,835.54.

On the other side, Shanghai Composite was down by 8.09 points or 0.26% to 3,059.06.