Key equity benchmarks continue to trade in positive territory

Key equity benchmarks continued their trade in positive territory in afternoon session, with Nifty and Sensex holding over half a percent gains, on back of buying in front line counters of Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel and ITC, while selling was witnessed in Yes Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma and Infosys. The rupee strengthened against the US dollar, tracking gains in Asian currencies amid lack of any further escalation in the US-China trade war. Investors took some encouragement with a report that the World Bank board endorsed an ambitious five-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for India, which aligns with New Delhi’s objectives of high, sustainable and inclusive growth. Traders took note of a report stating that India is considering to bring together a group of 8-10 member countries of the WTO to prepare an agenda for creation of a conducive atmosphere in Geneva to ensure smooth functioning of the global trade body. Street drew sense of relief with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that the size of Indian economy will double to $5 trillion by 2022 with manufacturing and agriculture contributing $1 trillion each.

On the global front, all the Asian markets were trading in green, putting them on course to end the week with a flourish as investors looked past the China-US trade row to focus on the booming American economy. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37364.87, up by 243.65 points or 0.66% after trading in a range of 37202.94 and 37489.24. There were 22 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.09%, while Small cap index was down by 0.47%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.71%, Oil & Gas up by 1.60%, PSU up by 1.36%, Metal up by 1.33% and Basic Materials was up by 0.45%, while Realty down by 0.91%, IT down by 0.51%, Consumer Durables down by 0.41%, TECK down by 0.38% and FMCG was down by 0.27% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 3.47%, ICICI Bank up by 3.40%, SBI up by 2.62%, Tata Steel up by 1.90% and ITC was up by 1.85%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 20.69%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.75%, Sun Pharma down by 1.11%, Infosys down by 0.81% and Tata Motors - DVR was down by 0.77% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in a positive surprise, the Retirement fund body, Employment Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in its latest ‘Net Payroll Data’ report has showed that India created 9.51 lakh new jobs in the month of July 2018. As per the report, total 9,51,423 new payrolls were created during July 2018 as against 8,57,934 created in the previous month, registering a growth of 10.90%.

The report found that the maximum jobs were created in the age bracket of 18-21 and in this bracket the top 10 sectors which have created more fresh jobs include Expert Services, Electric-Mechanical-or General Engineering Products, Trading, Building & Construction Industry, Engineer Contractors, Textiles, Garments making, establishment engaged in Manufacturing, establishment engaged in Cleaning Business and Hospitals. In the similar age bracket, Maharashtra was the first among the States to create maximum payroll, followed by Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Haryana and Delhi.

According to the data report, 7,938 new jobs were created in less than 18 age group category, while 2,68,011 jobs in 18-21 age group category. Further, 22-25 age, 26-28 age, 29-35 age and more than 35 age group category witnessed 2,54,827; 1,11,864; 1,56,378  and 1,52,405 new payrolls respectively in July 2018.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11302.75, up by 68.40 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 11263.60 and 11346.80. There were 34 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were ICICI Bank up by 3.68%, Axis Bank up by 3.64%, Indian Oil Corp. up by 3.45%, Bharti Infratel up by 3.27% and HPCL up by 3.18%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 21.19%, Indiabulls Housing down by 2.44%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.59%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.50% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.48% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets were trading in green; Hang Seng advanced 428.80 points or 1.54% to 27,906.47, Shanghai Composite surged 62.98 points or 2.26% to 2,792.22, Nikkei 225 jumped 195.00 points or 0.82% to 23,869.93, Straits Times rose 39.95 points or 1.24% to 3,220.38, Taiwan Weighted gained 141.00 points or 1.29% to 10,972.41, Jakarta Composite soared 4.05 points or 0.07% to 5,935.32 and KOSPI was up by 15.72 points or 0.67% to 2,339.17.