Indian bourses trade marginally higher in afternoon deals

In an extremely choppy session, the local barometer gauges were trading marginally higher in afternoon session, as Metal, Industrials, Capital Goods and Basic Materials shares witnessed buying. Traders found some support with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that India is emerging as a global manufacturing and start-up hub and many of the Made-in-India products, including cars and smartphones, are exported to nations from whom the country used to import. Traders also took note of Chairman of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Anil Khaitan’s statement that India needs to focus on exports and regulatory reform to propel the Indian economy forward. However, gains were limited as traders were taking cautious bet ahead of Futures and Options (F&O) derivative expiry for July series due tomorrow. On the sectoral front, Shares of cement majors were under pressure as investors reacted to an order, which upheld Rs 6,300 crore penalty imposed by Competition Commission of India (CCI).

On the global front, Asian Markets were trading mixed, as optimism about corporate earnings results and China's stimulus plan were offset by speculation that the Bank of Japan may not make immediate changes to its monetary policy. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36890.53, up by 65.43 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 36809.45 and 36928.06. There were 19 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.25%, while Small cap index was up by 0.58%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.46%, Industrials up by 0.57%, Capital Goods up by 0.46%, Basic Materials up by 0.46% and Energy up by 0.35%, while Telecom down by 1.39%, Power down by 0.79%, Utilities down by 0.66%, Consumer Durables down by 0.62% and TECK down by 0.60% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Vedanta up by 2.43%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 2.16%, Yes Bank up by 1.77%, Tata Steel up by 1.62% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.18%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 3.00%, NTPC down by 2.86%, Power Grid down by 1.15%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.06% and TCS down by 1.01% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla stated that the government has asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for views as well as suggestions regarding the possibility of merger among public sector banks (PSBs) in a bid to achieve synergy and scale operation. He also said that there is no timeline has been fixed for merger of the PSBs.

Shukla has highlighted that last year, the government has constituted an Alternative Mechanism (AM) comprised of three ministers, to facilitate consolidation among the PSBs to create strong and competitive banks to meet the credit needs of a growing economy, absorb shocks, and have the capacity to raise resources without depending unduly on the state exchequer. Besides, it said that the proposals received from banks for in-principle approval to formulate schemes of amalgamation shall be placed before the institution although there is no proposal for consideration before it.

The minister has stated the government has sought comments of respective state governments and sponsor banks on a roadmap for amalgamation of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) within a state with a view to enable Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) to minimize their overhead expenses, optimize the use of technology, enhance the capital base and area of operation and increase their exposure.

He further said that the roadmap has been prepared in consultation with National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) and proposes to bring down the number of RRBs to 38 from the present 56. He added that it is expected that the proposed amalgamation of RRBs will bring about better scale-efficiency, higher productivity, robust financial health, improved financial inclusion and greater credit flow to rural areas.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11139.15, up by 4.85 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 11118.20 and 11153.00. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 4.49%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.38%, Vedanta up by 2.24%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 1.97% and Yes Bank up by 1.76%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 3.10%, NTPC down by 3.02%, Ultratech Cement down by 2.69%, HCL Tech. down by 2.38% and Cipla down by 1.90% were the top losers.

Asian Markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng increased 260.63 points or 0.9% to 28,923.20, Jakarta Composite rose 6.11 points or 0.1% to 5,937.95, Straits Times surged 32.23 points or 0.97% to 3,324.88 and Nikkei 225 was up by 103.77 points or 0.46% to 22,614.25.

On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted decreased 29.60 points or 0.27% to 10,965.79, Shanghai Composite dipped 2.52 points or 0.09% to 2,903.04 and KOSPI was down by 7.17 points or 0.32% to 2,273.03.