Markets erase early losses to trade in green

Paring initial losses, Indian equity benchmarks entered into green terrain and are trading in fine fettle in morning deals, as traders took some support with private report that a lower base in the previous year’s quarter and likely good show by select companies in sectors such as automobiles, capital goods, FMCG, IT, and metals should help the Nifty 50 companies report a double-digit growth in aggregate sales and profits for the June 2018 quarter. However, gains remained capped on report that the increase in minimum support prices (MSP) by the government is set to bump up the Reserve Bank of India’s already heightened inflation forecast and will likely lead to higher interest rates at the next monetary policy review on August 1 and possibly another before the year ends.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red, with investors bracing for developments on the trade front as markets awaited tariffs from the US and China to take effect later today. The US markets ended higher on Thursday, on easing trade concerns amid reports that President Donald Trump might suspend threats to impose tariffs on cars imported from Europe if duties on US cars are lifted.

Back home, telecom stocks edged lower despite telecom regulator Trai prescribing amendments to the interconnect regulations, proposing certain changes in terms and conditions for an operator to seek fresh call connect ports from other telcos. However, IT stocks edged higher on report that Nasscom chairman Rishad Premji and president Debjani Ghosh said US administrative measures on immigration have not had a significant impact on Indian IT, and that the industry has adjusted by drastically reducing dependence on H-1B visas.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35672.31, up by 97.76 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 35532.21 and 35690.84. There were 18 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.43%, while Small cap index was up by 0.21%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.30%, Energy up by 1.29%, Realty up by 1.14%, Auto up by 0.86% and Healthcare was up by 0.73%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.50%, Metal down by 0.42%, FMCG down by 0.22% and Utilities was down by 0.08% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 2.83%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 2.44%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.86%, Reliance Industries up by 1.42% and Sun Pharma up by 1.24%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 0.85%, Asian Paints down by 0.80%, Wipro down by 0.79%, Vedanta down by 0.66% and Coal India down by 0.57% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, continuing rising trend, scheduled commercial bank credit jumped in the fortnight ended June 22, 2018. As per the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), banks’ credit growth increased 12.84% to Rs 86,16,408 crore as on June 22. Besides, in the year-ago fortnight, bank loans stood at Rs 76,35,689 crore.

The data also showed that the growth in advances was slightly higher than the growth registered in the previous fortnight ended June 8. It had risen by 12.67% to Rs 85,98,703 crore. During the period under review, bank deposits had risen by 7.59% to Rs 113,53,525 crore, compared with Rs 105,51,910 crore in the period ended June 23, 2017. The growth in deposits was slower than the period ended June 8, when it had increased by 8.35% to Rs 114,04,303 crore.

In May, non-food bank credit increased by 11.1% year-on-year, compared with an increase of 4.1% in May last year. Loans to industry rose by 1.4% in May 2018, against a contraction of 2.1% in May 2017. Advances to agriculture and allied activities increased 6.4% in May 2018, compared with an increase of 7.4% in May 2017.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10779.95, up by 30.20 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 10735.05 and 10783.90. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 3.00%, HPCL up by 2.67%, Indian Oil Cororation up by 2.35%, BPCL up by 2.21% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.82%. On the flip side, Titan down by 1.61%, Zee Entertainment down by 1.29%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.14%, NTPC down by 0.89% and Wipro down by 0.87% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Straits Times tumbled 72.38 points or 2.27% to 3,184.33, Hang Seng dropped 135.20 points or 0.48% to 28,046.89, Taiwan Weighted declined 59.87 points or 0.57% to 10,551.94, Jakarta Composite shed 36.05 points or 0.63% to 5,703.28 and Shanghai Composite was down by 9.18 points or 0.34% to 2,724.70.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 gained 271.78 points or 1.25% to 21,818.77 and KOSPI was up by 4.54 points or 0.20% to 2,262.09.