Indian equity indices trade with traction in early noon session

Indian equity indices were trading with traction in early noon session as US President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un signed documents that acknowledge the progress of the talks and pledge to keep momentum going, after their summit in Singapore. Sentiments remained up-beat with report stating that more than 1,300 fresh foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were registered with Sebi in FY18 on continued interest in the Indian equities and bonds. Buying in frontline blue-chip stocks ahead of IIP data for April and CPI inflation for May, to be released after markets closing today, also took the markets higher. Furthermore, shares of pharmaceutical companies were trading higher for the fifth straight trading day and Nifty Pharma index was the largest gainer among sectoral indices, which pulled the markets higher. Among the individual stocks on the BSE, TCS and Infosys were the gainers in IT sector, and Bajaj Auto and Tata Motors were the gainers in the Auto sector. Meanwhile, as per provisional data, DIIs bought shares worth a net Rs 1,062.82 crore, while foreign portfolio investors sold equities to the tune of Rs 1,156.77 crore on June 11.

On the global front, Asian markets were exhibiting a mixed trend after US President Donald Trump said a summit meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un had made “a lot of progress,” boosting hopes of a landmark deal to end a nuclear standoff on the Korean peninsula. Back home, some support came with a report stating that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved $1.9 billion in loans to India for infrastructure related projects in 2018. In scrip specific development, Mangalore Chemicals gained on restarting production at the Ammonia, Urea and ABC plants on June 11. Nucleus Software surged on launching mobile based lending platform for microfinance.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35669.80, up by 186.33 points or 0.53% after trading in a range of 35479.07 and 35677.00. There were 25 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.32%, while Small cap index up by 0.39%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.38%, IT up by 0.74%, FMCG up by 0.71%, Energy up by 0.64% and TECK up by 0.54%, while Metal down by 0.71%, Utilities down by 0.49%, Power down by 0.39%, Basic Materials down by 0.29% and Realty down by 0.18% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddys Lab up by 3.98%, TCS up by 1.34%, SBI up by 1.28%, Sun Pharma up by 1.07% and ITC up by 1.06%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.44%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.02%, Coal India down by 0.97%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.76% and NTPC down by 0.28% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with continuing interest in the Indian equities and bonds, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have increased in last financial year, as per the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) data. In the last financial year (FY18), more than 1,300 fresh foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were registered with Sebi.
As per regulator's Data, the number of FPIs with the markets regulator climbed to 9,136 at the end of March this year from 7,807 a year ago, resulting in an addition of 1,329. Moreover, the end of the earlier FII (foreign institutional investors) and sub-accounts regime, which ended in September 2016, necessitated all such entries to register as FPI.

In a big revamp, in 2014, Sebi has released norms that clubbed different categories of foreign investors into a new class called FPIs. They have been divided into three categories as per their risk profile and KYC (know your customer) requirements while other registration procedures have been made simpler. They are granted permanent registration as against the earlier practice of approval granted for one or five years to overseas entities seeking to invest in the Indian markets. The registration remains permanent unless suspended or cancelled by Sebi or surrendered by an FPI.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10837.50, up by 50.55 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 10789.40 and 10842.00. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddys Lab up by 3.98%, Lupin up by 3.00%, Cipla up by 1.53%, TCS up by 1.31% and SBI up by 1.09%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.45%, Hindalco down by 1.12%, Coal India down by 1.01%, Power Grid Corporation down by 0.82% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.80% were the top losers.

Asian markets were exhibiting mixed trend; Shanghai Composite increased 24.26 points or 0.79% to 3,077.04, Nikkei 225 surged 74.31 points or 0.33% to 22,878.35 and Hang Seng was up by 124.44 points or 0.4% to 31,188.14.

Bucking the trend, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 6.66 points or 0.38% to 1,769.14, Taiwan Weighted declined 4.44 points or 0.04% to 11,144.79 and KOSPI Index was down by 1.27 points or 0.05% to 2,468.88.