Firm trade persists on Dalal Street

Firm trade persisted on Dalal street  in late afternoon session with both Sensex and Nifty gaining more than 200 and 50 points, respectively, mirroring positive European markets. In line with the larger peers, the broader markets too rallied in late noon deals, while Industrials stocks gained the most among all other sectoral indices. Major industry gainers such as Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors, aided the markets to remain firm. Traders took note of India’s outgoing chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian’s statement that the country can handle shocks from external factors like high oil prices and a strong dollar. Optimism remained on the street with the EEPC India stating that the Indian engineering exports have managed to grow by close to 20% for the April-May, 2018, reflecting a ‘so far so good’ scenario even as the US-China tariff war has spread to some key trading markets in Europe, Canada and Mexico and shows no early signs of abating.  On the sectoral front, Airline stocks were trading higher, supported with a private report stating that the number of flyers in the months of April and May rising 17.7% to 9.4 lakh every day on average. Meanwhile, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia lauded businessmen for contributing in Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, as investors brace for the implementation of American and Chinese tariffs. The US tariffs on 34 billion dollars worth of Chinese imports went into effect just after midnight Thursday, with China saying it is ‘forced to make a necessary counterattack’. In economic releases, UK permanent job placement growth moderated at the end of the second quarter. However, Asian markets were trading mixed, with upbeat US economic data released overnight helping limit the downside. Back home, in scrip specific development, Reliance Industries gained with its subsidiary -- Reliance Jio Infocomm -- launching JioPhone 2 at an introductory price of Rs 2999.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35776.67, up by 202.12 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 35532.21 and 35799.46. There were 22 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.00%, while Small cap index was up by 0.74%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 1.88%, Auto up by 1.83%, Realty up by 1.81%, Capital Goods up by 1.62% and PSU up by 1.38%, while Telecom down by 0.22% and Consumer Durables down by 0.04% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hero MotoCorp up by 4.34%, Tata Motors up by 3.77%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 2.93%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.24% and TCS up by 2.03%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.01%, Infosys down by 0.78%, Wipro down by 0.62%, NTPC down by 0.39% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.29% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid uncertainties in international trade, the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Alok Chaturvedi has said the government is working on a comprehensive strategy to boost exports. He added ‘we have taken inputs from entities like Exim Bank, FIEO and others’. Besides, India’s total exports including services touched $500 billion last year, registering a growth of 13.5%.

Chaturvedi further said that the increase in tariffs and volatility in currencies were adding to the woes of exporters, coupled with political tensions in Iran, Russia and the Middle East. About the complaint filed by the US in the WTO against India providing subsidies to exporters, he said that the matter was being negotiated with America.

DGFT also said that all taxes and duties should be refunded to exporters, including those outside the purview of GST and for this, a committee has been set up which is looking into these issues. However, he said it was not possible for the government to provide production subsidies, due to budgetary constraints, adding that exporters could be reimbursed for complying with the international regulatory norms.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10803.45, up by 53.70 points or 0.50% after trading in a range of 10735.05 and 10815.95. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HPCL up by 4.66%, Hero MotoCorp up by 4.18%, Tata Motors up by 3.69%, Grasim Industries up by 2.51% and Bajaj Auto up by 2.22%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.71%, Zee Entertainment down by 1.40%, Titan down by 1.10%, Bharti Infratel down by 1.09% and ICICI Bank down by 0.99% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 increased 241.15 points or 1.11% to 21,788.14, Hang Seng increased 133.53 points or 0.47% to 28,315.62, KOSPI increased 15.32 points or 0.67% to 2,272.87 and Shanghai Composite was up by 12.60 points or 0.46% to 2,746.48. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted decreased 3.24 points or 0.03% to 10,608.57, Straits Times decreased 72.52 points or 2.28% to 3,184.19 and Jakarta Composite was down by 33.62 points or 0.59% to 5,705.71.

All European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 surged 9.70 points or 0.13% to 7,612.92, France’s CAC increased 19.45 points or 0.36% to 5,385.77 and Germany’s DAX was up by 12.73 points or 0.1% to 12,477.02.