Bourses maintain upbeat mood in afternoon deals

Indian equity indices maintained their upbeat mood in afternoon session, as buying momentum in the equities persisted. Traders remained in jubilant mood with rating agency Crisil’s latest report stating that India Inc will deliver the highest quarterly revenue growth in three years at 12.8% in the April-June period, but high oil prices will narrow profit margins by 0.20%. The markets also drew some solace with NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar making a case for promoting Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) in states, saying it would help in doubling farmers’ income by 2022. Moreover, firm global cues coupled with optimism over corporate earnings too buoyed the sentiments. Barring Healthcare, all other BSE sectoral indices were trading in the positive zone. Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu hold bilateral discussions with his South Korean counterpart Kim Hyun-chong to promote economic ties. The ministers also reviewed the progress of negotiations of the India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). On the sectoral front, select textile stocks were trading lower after report stating that India’s apparel exports are estimated to have declined by 17 percent in the first quarter of FY19 due to a slowdown in demand from developed countries following weak economic activity there.

On the global front, Asian market were trading in green, as overnight gains on Wall Street and the lack of bad news surrounding U.S.-China tariffs boosted sentiment. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36189.63, up by 254.91 points or 0.71% after trading in a range of 36019.63 and 36195.46. There were 23 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.87%, while Small cap index was up by 1.18%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.94%, Telecom up by 1.71%, Energy up by 1.66%, Metal up by 1.17% and Basic Materials up by 1.13%, while Healthcare down by 0.17% was the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Auto up by 2.78%, Reliance Industries up by 2.57%, Axis Bank up by 1.97%, Tata Steel up by 1.90% and Wipro up by 1.70%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.20%, Sun Pharma down by 1.13%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.56%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.33% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.31% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in its latest report has showed that a total of 39 new trade-restrictive measures were applied by G20 economies between October 16, 2017 and May 15, 2018, including tariff increases, stricter customs procedures, imposition of taxes and export duties. It noted that this equates to an average of almost six restrictive measures per month, which is significantly higher than the three measures recorded during the previous review period. It mentioned that the G20 is a group of developed and developing countries which include India, Australia, Brazil, China, France, UK, EU, Germany, Japan, Korea, Russia, South Africa and Turkey. 

The report further indicated that the G20 nations also implemented 47 measures to facilitate trade during this review period, including elimination or cut in tariffs, simplified import and export customs procedures and reduction of import taxes. It noted that at an average of almost seven trade-facilitating measures per month, this is marginally higher than the six measures recorded in the previous reporting period (mid-May to mid-October 2017). The report comes against the backdrop of trade wars intensifying globally, led by the US and China, in the past couple of months.

According to the report, the marked increase in such measures among G20 economies should be of real concern to the international community. It also pointed out that additional trade-restrictive measures have been announced in the weeks since this reporting period and therefore the deterioration in trade relations may be even worse than that recorded here. It noted that this continued escalation poses a serious threat to the global trade growth. Adding further, it said that increase in trade restrictive steps is not a good news for India as it would impact exports growth of the country. It is taking several steps to promote the outbound shipments, which helps create employment opportunities, earn foreign exchange and boost economic activities.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10926.20, up by 73.30 points or 0.68% after trading in a range of 10876.65 and 10929.80. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 2.71%, Hindalco up by 2.57%, Reliance Industries up by 2.49%, Wipro up by 2.21% and Tata Steel up by 2.14%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 1.83%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.31%, HPCL down by 1.14%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.85% and Lupin down by 0.71% were the top losers.

Asian market were trading in green; Nikkei 225 increased 144.71 points or 0.65% to 22,196.89, Hang Seng was up by 132.90 points or 0.46% to 28,821.40, KOSPI rose 8.36 points or 0.36% to 2,294.16, Shanghai Composite added 1.13 points or 0.04% to 2,816.24, Taiwan Weighted surged 36.61 points or 0.34% to 10,756.89, Straits Times increased 24.09 points or 0.74% to 3,252.91 and Jakarta Composite inched up 45.32 points or 0.77% to 5,852.70.