Local equities continue firm trade in morning deals

Local equity benchmarks continued their firm trade in morning deals, with Sensex and Nifty gathering gains more than 250 and 70 points, respectively. Among heavy-weights, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries and Sun Pharma exhibited a smart performance. Traders remained energized with Fitch’s report stating that India’s real GDP growth is expected to be at 7.8% in FY19, up from 6.7% in FY18 even as the government may find it tough to meet its fiscal deficit target of 3.3%. Market sentiments also got boosted with a private report stating that with bilateral trade between India and the South American country Peru touching an all-time high of $1.60 billion, the next round of talks for the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries is scheduled to take place next month. Adding to some more optimism, commerce ministry data reported that Merchandise export for October rose 17.9% year-on-year to $26.98 billion even as trade deficit widened to $17.1 billion dollars on the back of higher imports of oil and electronic goods. The trade gap was $14.6 billion in October 2017.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, on hopes of easing in the ongoing Sino-US trade relations, though there were dueling reports on the prospects for an actual agreement. Back home, on the sectoral front, Pharma stock remained on the lime light, as Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers stated that after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation, the pharmaceutical sector grew 6% to Rs 1,31,312 crore on a year-on-year basis till May 31 current year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35522.29, up by 261.75 points or 0.74% after trading in a range of 35324.37 and 35532.96. There were 25 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.31%, while Small cap index was up by 0.19%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 4.42%, Energy up by 1.18%, Healthcare up by 1.03%, TECK up by 0.68% and FMCG was up by 0.64%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.61%, PSU down by 0.38%, Realty down by 0.32%, Metal down by 0.32% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 7.54%, Reliance Industries up by 2.47%, Sun Pharma up by 1.47%, HDFC up by 1.40% and Wipro was up by 1.37%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 6.09%, ONGC down by 2.61%, Infosys down by 1.11%, Tata Steel down by 0.95% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 0.55% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, recovering from the last month’s decline of 2.15%, India’s merchandise exports jumped 17.86% in the month of October 2018, as engineering goods, pharmaceutical and chemical shipments picked up pace. However, the trade deficit widened to $17.13 billion in the month under review, from $14.61 billion during the same month a year ago. The overall trade deficit for April- October 2018-19 is estimated at $66.57 billion as compared to $52.23 billion during April- October  2017-18.

As per the data released by the Commerce Ministry, exports grew by 17.86% to $26.98 billion in October 2018, as compared to $22.89 billion in the same month a year ago. In Rupee terms, exports were higher by 33.35% to Rs 1,98,634.84 crore in October 2018, as compared to Rs 1,48,962.64 crore in October 2017. Cumulative value of exports for the period April-October 2018-19 was $191.01 billion as against $168.64 billion during the period April-October 2017-18, registering a positive growth of 13.27%. In Rupee terms, it was up by 21.77% to Rs 13,23,940.28 crore from Rs 10,87,270.47 crore.

Non-petroleum and Non Gems and Jewellery exports in October 2018 were $18.94 billion, as compared to $16.54 billion in October 2017, exhibiting a positive growth of 14.54%. Non-petroleum and Non Gems and Jewellery exports in April-October 2018-19 were $137.98 billion, as compared to $124.45 billion for the corresponding period in 2017-18, an increase of 10.88%.

Imports during October 2018 increased by 17.62% to $44.11 billion as compared to imports of $37.50 billion in October 2017, while in rupee terms it was up by 33.07% to Rs 3,24,774.78 crore from Rs 2,44,064.20 crore in October 2017. Cumulative value of imports for the period April-October 2018-19 was $302.47 billion, as against $259.92 billion during the period April- October 2017-18, registering a positive growth of 16.37% over the same period last year. In rupee terms, it was Rs 20,97,058.41 crore, up by 25.13% from Rs 16,75,887.95 crore in the same period last year.

Oil imports in October 2018 were $14.21 billion, which was 52.64% higher, compared to $9.31 billion in October 2017. Oil imports in April-October 2018-19 were $83.94 billion which was 50.48% higher as compared to $55.78 billion over the same period last year. Non-oil imports in October 2018 were estimated at $29.90 billion which was 6.05% higher, compared to $28.19 billion in October 2017. Non-oil imports in April-October 2018-19 were $218.53 billion which was 7.05% higher, compared to $204.14 billion in April-October 2017-18. Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports were $28.21 billion in October 2018, up 11.77% over the same period of last year. Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports were $199.21 billion in April- October 2018-19, up 8.14% over the same period of last year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10687.80, up by 71.10 points or 0.67% after trading in a range of 10633.80 and 10690.05. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 6.64%, Reliance Industries up by 2.76%, Bharti Infratel up by 2.37%, HCL Tech up by 2.12% and Cipla was up by 1.90%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 6.07%, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 3.92%, ONGC down by 2.55%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 2.45% and JSW Steel was down by 2.09% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, KOSPI gained 7.94 points or 0.38% to 2,096.00, Straits Times rose 27.62 points or 0.9% to 3,082.15, Shanghai Composite surges 18.87 points or 0.7% to 2,687.04, Hang Seng soars 61.23 points or 0.23% to 26,164.57 and Jakarta Composite was up by 85.52 points or 1.42% to 6,041.26.

On other side, Nikkei 225 decreased 14.79 points or 0.07% to 21,788.83 and Taiwan Weighted decreased 33.98 points or 0.35% to 9,792.48.