Indian bourses trim gains in afternoon deals

Key benchmark indices gave up most of their initial gains in afternoon deals but continued to trade in positive territory, led by Banking, Energy, Oil & Gas and FMCG stocks. The indices remained positive with CRISIL Research’s report that revenues of corporates are expected to log a robust 12.1% year-on-year growth in the second quarter of FY 2019, nearly twice the 6.4% growth in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal. Some support also came with report stating that rates on short-term paper eased after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to free up funds for the commercial banks to tide over the present liquidity crunch. However, the market trimmed most of their gains, as anxiety remained among the local traders ahead of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council’s 30th meeting to be held on Friday to discuss multiple proposals for levying additional cess to help flood-ravaged Kerala recoup revenue losses. On the sectoral front, stocks related to handloom sector edged lower despite Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Irani stating that the Centre is committed to strengthening the handloom sector in the country which has a rich tradition.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, following the overnight gains on Wall Street, with investor sentiment bolstered by the Federal Reserve's positive outlook for the U.S. economy in addition to upbeat U.S. economic data. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36423.06, up by 98.89 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 36208.01 and 36551.86. There were 15 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index down by 0.83%, while Small cap index was down by 1.58%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.57%, Energy up by 0.50%, Oil & Gas up by 0.22% and FMCG up by 0.14%, while Metal down by 3.61%, Realty down by 2.66%, Telecom down by 2.60%, Basic Materials down by 2.07% and Auto down by 1.21% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 2.15%, HDFC up by 1.84%, Asian Paints up by 1.52%, Wipro up by 1.34% and HDFC Bank up by 1.23%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 8.02%, Bharti Airtel down by 4.68%, Tata Steel down by 4.12%, Vedanta down by 3.51% and Hero MotoCorp down by 3.38% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry has set up a 12-member high-level advisory group to look at ways of promoting India’s trade. It would also look at areas including exchange rate management, impact of trade wars and strategy to manage consequences of unprecedented de-stabilising conflict oriented trade dynamics.

That apart, the group would examine prevailing trade dynamics, and suggest framework for India to engage in future international trade. The group on future foreign trade policy would suggest to boost India's trade qualitatively and quantitatively. The panel would be headed by Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) part-time member Surjit Bhalla. The other members include Principal Economic Adviser Sanjeev Sanyal, former commerce secretary Rajiv Kher and Quality Council of India Chairman Adil Zainulbhai.

Since 2011-12, the country’s exports have been hovering at around $300 billion. During 2017-18, the shipments grew by about 10 percent to $303 billion. Promoting exports helps a country to create jobs, boost manufacturing and earn more foreign exchange.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10990.60, up by 13.05 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 10920.75 and 11034.10. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI up by 2.20%, Wipro up by 1.87%, HPCL up by 1.82%, HDFC up by 1.81% and GAIL India up by 1.54%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 7.53%, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 5.76%, Bharti Airtel down by 5.13%, JSW Steel down by 4.83% and Tata Steel down by 4.59% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Straits Times increased 18.04 points or 0.55% to 3,254.30, Jakarta Composite increased 19.82 points or 0.33% to 5,949.04, Nikkei 225 increased 323.30 points or 1.34% to 24,120.04, Shanghai Composite increased 23.01 points or 0.82% to 2,814.78 and Hang Seng increased 7.81 points or 0.03% to 27,723.48.

On the flip side, KOSPI decreased 12.36 points or 0.53% to 2,343.07 and Taiwan Weighted decreased 27.85 points or 0.25% to 11,006.34.