Local equities hold positive momentum

Local equity benchmarks continued to hold positive momentum on the streets, with Sensex and Nifty garnering gains of around half a percent, led by jump in Healthcare, Bankex and Capital Goods stocks. Among banking stocks, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank and SBI exhibited a smart performance. Market-men took support from the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) statement that it will inject Rs 400 billion into the system in November through a purchase of government securities as it looks to meet festive season demand for funds. Traders remained optimistic with Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu’s statement that India and the US have exchanged offers for a possible trade deal with a view to resolving issues related to bilateral commerce. Traders also took note of a private report that the global economy is expected to achieve an annual GDP growth rate, as measured in constant dollars, of 3.7% between 2018-2020 before dipping to 3.6% between 2021-2023 and, in turn, pass the $100 trillion mark around 2022.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, as investors started the week on edge amid the recent global sell-off. The dollar nudged higher with Treasury yields. Back home, on the sectoral front, banking stocks were buzzing on the streets on a report stating that enthused by the impact of new insolvency and bankruptcy law, the government expects bad loan recoveries to exceed Rs 1.80 lakh crore target for the current financial year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33492.69, up by 143.38 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 33341.80 and 33579.18. There were 22 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.75%, while Small cap index was up by 0.91%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 2.66%, Bankex up by 1.28%, Capital Goods up by 1.27%, Industrials up by 1.00% and Consumer Durables was up by 0.91%, while Metal was down by 0.37% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 8.24%, Axis Bank up by 5.82%, SBI up by 3.47%, Sun Pharma up by 2.96% and Tata Motors was up by 2.46%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 4.75%, IndusInd Bank down by 3.67%, HDFC Bank down by 2.51%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.76% and HDFC was down by 1.53% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu has said that India’s export surged to a six-year high of 9.8 percent in the financial year 2017-18. He pointed out that this positive growth in exports happened at a time when there is a lot of negative headwinds globally. Besides, he said that Commerce Ministry is working on a comprehensive state specific export strategy to revitalize India's exports and is working with key exporting ministries to formulate sectoral, commodity and territory specific export strategy.

The minister further said that meetings with concerned ministries have already been held where different ministries and stakeholders have been consulted after which a matrix of specific action points have been prepared sector wise, commodity wise and territory wise. Apart from this, Parbhu informed that he is personally monitoring the progress and regular meetings that are being held with sectoral ministries, export promotion councils and exporters. He added that certain issues which were affecting the growth of exports have been specifically taken up with the Department of Revenue and Ministry of Environment.

Prabhu has stated that the soon-to-be-unveiled new agriculture export policy will give a major boost to the agricultural sector and will pave the way for Indian farmer's income to be doubled. He added that India produces 600 metric ton of agricultural produce and has the capacity to export excess production to the world.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10076.70, up by 46.70 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 10020.35 and 10090.65. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ICICI Bank up by 8.47%, Axis Bank up by 5.76%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 5.64%, SBI up by 3.71% and Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 3.38%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 4.45%, Indusind Bank down by 3.72%, HDFC Bank down by 2.51%, JSW Steel down by 1.88% and Hindalco down by 1.56% were the top losers.

Asian market were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted rose 3.41 points or 0.04% to 9,492.59, Straits Times gained 16.82 points or 0.56% to 2,988.84, Hang Seng surged 78.78 points or 0.32% to 24,796.41 and Nikkei 225 was up by 46.40 points or 0.22% to 21,231.00.

On the other hand, KOSPI slipped 3.53 points or 0.17% to 2,023.62, Shanghai Composite lost 38.11 points or 1.49% to 2,560.74 and Jakarta Composite was down by 14.59 points or 0.25% to 5,770.33.