Firm trade persists on Dalal Street

Firm trade persisted on the Dalal Street in late afternoon session, with Sensex and Nifty holding gains of around 200 and 65 points, respectively, despite mixed cues from European markets. The key indices were supported by sustained buying in IT, TECK and Energy stocks. Domestic sentiments remained upbeat with India's top envoy to the UN Syed Akbaruddin’s statement that India is pushing ahead on its national efforts to meet Sustainable Devolvement Goals by undertaking one of the highest rates of renewable energy expansion and building 11 million homes under the world's largest affordable housing programme. Some support also came with a report that the proposed new industrial policy, to be released soon, would focus on areas such as promotion of digital ports and use of big data to boost India's exports and manufacturing sector. On the sectoral front, realty stocks remained in focus, as government discussed ways to boost real estate sector with stakeholders. Reduction of GST, some tax concessions and boosting investment were among the key demands raised by real estate developers at a meeting with the government.

On the global front, European markets were trading mixed, as the European Union is preparing a new list of American goods to hit with protective measures if US President Donald Trump imposes ‘disastrous’ tariffs on automobiles ahead of next week's talks in Washington. In economic releases, public sector finance data from the UK and Eurozone current account figures are due later in the session. Asian markets were trading in green, despite signs that China and the US were preparing to impose more tariffs on each other's products. Back home, in scrip specific development, PNC Infratech gained after the company received Letters of Intent (LoI) from Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) on July 19, 2018 for the two contiguous EPC packages of Lucknow - Ghazipur Six Lane Access Controlled Purvanchal Expressway Project in the state of Uttar Pradesh for an aggregate contract value of Rs 2520 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36,541.31, up by 190.08 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 36,335.61 and 36,567.34. There were 20 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.76%, while Small cap index was up by 0.26%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.61%, TECK up by 1.45%, Energy up by 1.42%, Realty up by 1.09% and Telecom up by 1.08%, while Metal down by 0.52%, PSU down by 0.39%, Oil & Gas down by 0.33%, Auto down by 0.31% and Basic Materials down by 0.28% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 2.94%, Infosys up by 2.83%, ICICI Bank up by 2.11%, Sun Pharma up by 1.73% and Indusind Bank up by 1.17%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 7.31%, ONGC down by 2.66%, Vedanta down by 2.57%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.52% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.03% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, global rating agency, S&P Global Ratings in its latest report ‘APAC Economic Snapshots July 2018′ has expressed concerns that India may face capital flow pressure on the back of trade issues and higher US interest rate.  However, the agency noted that capital flight risks are more moderate this year compared with 2013, when markets globally responded sharply to the US Fed’s slower quantitative easing.

Further, highlighting strong macroeconomic growth momentum of Asia-Pacific region despite trade tensions, S&P said that India’s economic data continue to be positive overall, with purchasing manager indices are above 50 and trending upward. The rating agency also underlined accelerating credit and trade growth along with stabilized rupee in recent weeks. However, it pointed that rising oil prices are impacting the overall external balance and pushing higher inflation.

Besides, S&P Global said that ongoing global trade tensions are the key risk for the region’s economic growth and welfare stems. It added that the US continues to expand the tariff net on China and other trading partners, who would then retaliate against US trade measures and this could lead to slower global growth and reduced welfare for consumers.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11,020.35, up by 63.25 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 10,946.20 and 11,030.25. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 7.43%, Bajaj Finserv up by 7.04%, Infosys up by 2.72%, Reliance Industries up by 2.68% and Tech Mahindra up by 2.28%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 7.94%, ONGC down by 2.91%, Vedanta down by 2.64%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 2.26% and HPCL down by 2.25% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted jumped 96.73 points or 0.88% to 10,932.11, KOSPI was up by 6.90 points or 0.3% to 2,289.19, Hang Seng zoomed 213.62 points or 0.76% to 28,224.48, Shanghai Composite increased 56.60 points or 2% to 2,829.15 and Straits Times gained 13.48 points or 0.41% to 3,291.06. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 fell 66.80 points or 0.29% to 22,697.88 and Jakarta Composite decreased 13.22 points or 0.23% to 5,857.86.

European markets were trading mixed, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 18.67 points or 0.24% to 7,702.64 and Germany’s DAX was up by 5.37 points or 0.04% to 12,691.66. On the flip side, France’s CAC decreased 6.96 points or 0.13% to 5,410.11.