Benchmarks trade at fresh record highs; Nifty conquers 11,150 mark

Indian equity benchmarks started the F&O expiry session on an optimistic note with frontline gauges trading at their fresh record high levels, conquering their crucial 36,900 (Sensex) and 11,150 (Nifty) levels. Sentiments remained up-beat with Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu’s statement that India’s exports would register healthy growth rates in the coming months and are expected to touch $350 billion in 2018-19. He also said that services sector is set to become a dominant driver of the Indian economy and will contribute $3 trillion to the GDP by 2025. Traders also took some encouragement with Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s statement that India’s economy will breach the $5 trillion mark by 2025. Some also support came with the global rating agency Moody’s Investor Service’s statement that the fund infusion in five weak public sector banks will be credit positive and strengthen their capitalization.

Global cues too remained supportive with Asian markets trading in green at this point of time, taking leads from gains on Wall Street after US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed to work toward eliminating trade barriers on industrial goods. The US markets ended higher on Wednesday, after President Trump secured some concessions from the European Union to avoid an escalation in trade tensions.

Back home, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said that the mutual fund industry, which is witnessing record growth, needs a good governance system. In scrip specific developments, Blue Star soared on its arm bagging order worth Rs 100 crore from UPMHS and L&T rose on reporting 36% rise in Q1 consolidated net profit.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36965.12, up by 106.89 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 36894.82 and 37014.65. There were 19 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.62%, while Small cap index was up by 0.35%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.79%, Capital Goods up by 0.73%, Basic Materials up by 0.70%, FMCG up by 0.65% and Industrials was up by 0.65%, while Metal down by 0.31%, IT down by 0.24% and TECK was down by 0.20% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 1.84%, Tata Motors up by 1.34%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.29%, ITC up by 1.28% and Tata Motors - DVR was up by 1.20%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 0.99%, Wipro down by 0.87%, Vedanta down by 0.66%, Axis Bank down by 0.57% and Sun Pharma was down by 0.38% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing hopes on good growth in exports, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has said that India may register healthy growth rates in exports in the coming months, despite increasing global protectionism. He added that the country’s exports are expected to touch $350 billion in the current fiscal year (FY19).

Prabhu also said that services sector is set to become a dominant driver of the Indian economy and will contribute $3 trillion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2025. The services sector contributes significantly to India’s increased productivity and competitiveness. He said that India is pushing for export of services to countries in Africa and Latin America.

In order to give a boost to the services sector Commerce Ministry has identified 12 champion services sectors for which Cabinet has approved a dedicated fund of Rs 5000 crore to support initiatives for sectoral action. Besides, India’s merchandise exports rose 9.8% to $303 billion during 2017-18, the highest growth rate in six year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11162.15, up by 30.15 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 11129.85 and 11172.20. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 2.82%, Indiabulls Housing up by 2.49%, SBI up by 1.80%, Grasim Industries up by 1.73% and Eicher Motors was up by 1.32%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.88%, Bharti Infratel down by 1.32%, Asian Paints down by 1.01%, Axis Bank down by 0.93% and HPCL was down by 0.90% were the top losers.

Asian Markets trade mostly in green; Jakarta Composite gained 23.79 points or 0.4% to 5,957.68, Straits Times surged 3.71 points or 0.11% to 3,330.54, Taiwan Weighted advanced 22.43 points or 0.2% to 10,988.22 and KOSPI was up 13.32 points or 0.58% to 2,286.35

On the other hand, Hang Seng declined 212.99 points or 0.74% to 28,707.91, Nikkei 225 slipped 17.91 points or 0.08% to 22,596.34 and Shanghai Composite was down 18.36 points or 0.64% to 2,885.29.