Markets hold gains; Sensex up by around 100 points

Indian equity benchmarks managed to hold their gains in late afternoon session, despite weak opening in European markets. Optimism remained on the street with a report that the Centre is planning to slash the number of GST rate slabs from the present five to two in the near future. The firm broader markets along with heavy buying in Telecom, Auto and Metal stock, also kept the market mood positive in late noon deals. Further, Hero MotoCorp was leading the major industry leaders on the BSE with the gains of over 4%. Adding some support, credit rating agency, ICRA in its latest report revealed that aggregate revenues of Indian corporate sector witnessed rise of 17.1% during the first quarter of the current fiscal year (Q1FY19), on a lower base in the year-ago period due to impact of GST implementation.

Some relief also came amid reports that the newly notified annual GST return forms will go a long way in checking tax evasion by providing the entire financial transactions logged by an assessee to the revenue department. Besides, the market participants took note of Federation of Indian Export Organisations’ statement that the commerce ministry should direct the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) to provide liberal insurance coverage to consignments with a view to promote overseas shipments. On the sectoral front, stock related to retail sector remained in focus, amid private report stating that India’s retail market may touch Rs 80 trillion in 2020 from close to Rs 50 trillion now, buoyed by consumerism, rising income levels and foreign direct investments in consumer-facing sectors.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, as Germany's factory orders dropped unexpectedly in July amid trade disputes with the United States. The data from Destatis showed that new orders in manufacturing fell 0.9% in July from June, confounding expectations for an increase of 1.8%. Asian markets were also trading in red, as the US and China move closer to imposing tariffs on billions of dollars of each other's goods. Back home, in scrip specific development, Thomas Cook (India) gained on eyeing strong growth in Delhi NCR.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38339.97, up by 97.16 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 38067.22 and 38355.38. 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 1.04%, while Small cap index was up by 0.66%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.70%, Metal up by 2.07%, Auto up by 1.88%, Basic Materials up by 1.44% and Consumer Disc up by 1.18%, while Bankex down by 0.42% was  the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hero MotoCorp up by 4.37%, Bajaj Auto up by 3.85%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.78%, Bharti Airtel up by 3.68% and Tata Steel up by 3.08%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 4.42%, Sun Pharma down by 2.17%, SBI down by 1.94%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.83% and Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.65% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency, ICRA in its latest report has revealed that aggregate revenues of Indian corporate sector witnessed rise of 17.1% during the first quarter of the current fiscal year (Q1FY19), on a lower base in the year-ago period due to impact of GST implementation. The rating agency also pointed healthy consumption-driven demand and pick-up in infrastructure spending as revenues growth drivers.

The report, which is based on the analysis of 660 companies, found revenue growth in 26 sectors out of the 32 sectors. As per the report, consumer-oriented sectors like auto, fast moving consumer goods, consumer durables, restaurants and airlines, and commodity-linked sectors like cement, iron and steel and oil and gas continue to do well, while sectors like capital goods, pharmaceuticals, media and fertilisers have also witnessed strong revenue growth.

However, ICRA noted that on a Q-o-Q basis, sales declined by 2.4% due to seasonal factors. Further, the report said that metals and mining (including iron and steel), consumer food sector witnessed decent margin improvement, while airlines, tiles and ceramics and cement sector witnessed significant erosion in margins due to rising fuel prices.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11569.60, up by 32.70 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 11484.40 and 11579.60. There were 32 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Lupin up by 4.42%, Hero MotoCorp up by 4.14%, Bajaj Auto up by 3.93%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.67% and Bharti Airtel up by 3.59%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 4.72%, SBI down by 2.14%, Sun Pharma down by 2.07%, Power Grid Corporation down by 2.03% and Zee Entertainment down by 1.95% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted decreased 77.31 points or 0.71% to 10,846.99, Hang Seng lost 1.35 points or 0.01% to 26,973.47, KOSPI fell 6.03 points or 0.26% to 2,281.58, Straits Times declined 15.77 points or 0.5% to 3,131.92 and Nikkei 225 was down by 180.88 points or 0.81% to 22,307.06. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite increased 10.71 points or 0.4% to 2,702.30 and Jakarta Composite was up by 49.95 points or 0.86% to 5,826.05.

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 15.14 points or 0.21% to 7,303.82 and Germany’s DAX was down by 8.63 points or 0.07% to 11,946.62. On the flip side, France’s CAC increased 6.33 points or 0.12% to 5,250.17.