Frontline gauges add gains; Realty, Metal stocks shine

Frontline gauges added gains in the early noon session due to buying in Realty, Metal and Basic Materials stocks. Buying in blue-chip stocks such as Yes Bank, Vedanta and Tata Motors also pulled the markets higher. Sentiments remained up-beat on report that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 844.82 crore on November 16, 2018, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was slightly positive. On the BSE, 1,142 shares rose against 1,079 shares that were seen declining. A total of 137 shares remain unchanged. Investors’ sentiments were optimistic with report highlighting that foreign investors have pumped in nearly Rs 8,285 crore into the Indian capital markets so far this month, due to fall in crude oil prices, recovery in rupee and improvement in the liquidity situation. Some support also came with a private report stating that corporate India reported a good set of numbers during the July-September 2018 quarter, thanks to gains from a low base during the corresponding quarter last fiscal year and a better-than-expected showing by metals and mining firms.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green. But investors were keeping a close eye on the China-US trade row after Donald Trump’s optimistic comments on a possible deal were offset by a war of words between his vice president and Xi Jinping. Back home, a report stated that the oil marketing companies (OMCs) continued to cut prices of petrol and diesel. The petrol was selling at Rs 76.52 per litre in Delhi and diesel prices were at Rs 71.39 in Delhi on Monday (November 19, 2018).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35556.40, up by 99.24 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 35511.10 and 35667.27. There were 17 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.17%, while Small cap index was up by 0.19%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.62%, Metal up by 1.38%, Basic Materials up by 0.94%, Auto up by 0.55% and Healthcare up by 0.52% while, Telecom down by 1.06%, Oil & Gas down by 0.92%, PSU down by 0.41%, Utilities down by 0.22% and Power down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 5.23%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 2.78%, Vedanta up by 2.59%, Tata Motors up by 2.51% and Sun Pharma up by 1.18%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.90%, ONGC down by 1.56%, ICICI Bank down by 1.31%, Axis Bank down by 1.00% and Adani Ports down by 0.76% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the share of foreign portfolio investments (FPI) through participatory notes (P-notes) in domestic capital markets has declined to nine-and-a-half year low of Rs 66,587 crore at the end of October. According to SEBI data, total value of P-Notes investments in Indian markets including equity, debt and derivatives, at October end fall to Rs 66,587 crore from Rs 79,548 crore in the end of September and Rs 84,647 crore in August.

Of the total, P-note holdings in equities at October-end were at Rs 50,584 crore, while in debts and derivatives were at Rs 14,563 crore and Rs 1,441 crore respectively. The quantum of foreign portfolio investors’ (FPIs) investments via P-notes dropped to 2.2 percent during the period under review from 2.4 percent in the preceding month. P-notes are issued by registered FPIs to overseas investors who wish to be part of the Indian stock markets without registering themselves directly. They, however, need to go through a proper due diligence process.

SEBI, in July 2017, had notified stricter norms stipulating a fee of $1,000 on each instrument to check any misuse for channelising black money. It also prohibited FPIs from issuing such notes where the underlying asset is a derivative, except those which are used for hedging purposes. Meanwhile, in September this year, the market regulator issued revised KYC norms for FPIs, wherein resident as well as non-resident Indians have been permitted to hold non-controlling stake in such entities. These norms were put in place weeks after a panel suggested various changes to the guidelines proposed earlier, amid concerns in certain quarters that overseas funds might face difficulties in ensuring compliance.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10699.90, up by 17.70 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 10688.80 and 10732.25. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 5.31%, Hindalco up by 3.00%, Vedanta up by 2.54%, Grasim Industries up by 2.52% and Tata Motors up by 2.28%. On the flip side, GAIL India down by 2.59%, Indiabulls Housing down by 2.36%, HPCL down by 2.20%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.59% and ONGC down by 1.44% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; KOSPI increased 4.63 points or 0.22% to 2,097.03, Shanghai Composite increased 12.28 points or 0.46% to 2,691.39, Hang Seng increased 50.180 points or 0.19% to 26,233.71, Taiwan Weighted increased 31.60 points or 0.32% to 9,828.69 and Nikkei 225 increased 140.82 points or 0.65% to 21,821.16.

On the flip side, Straits Times decreased 20.40 points or 0.67% to 3,063.20 and Jakarta Composite decreased 14.75 points or 0.25% to 5,997.60.