Benchmarks trade jubilantly; Sensex reclaims 36k mark

Indian equity benchmarks made a gap-up opening and are trading jubilantly in early deals on Thursday with frontline gauges recapturing their crucial 36,000 (Sensex) and 10,800 (Nifty) levels. Sentiments remained upbeat with traders getting encouragement from Union Minister Suresh Prabhu’s statement that the commerce and industry ministry is preparing an action plan for implementing the proposed new industrial policy, aimed at promoting manufacturing and economic growth of the country. Traders also reacted positively to a private report that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may have to conduct open market operations (OMOs) of another Rs 1,60,000 crore in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal to tide over the banking liquidity crisis. Meanwhile, the RBI’s data showed that India Inc’s foreign borrowings dipped nearly 66% to $1.41 billion in October this year.

Global cues too remained supportive with most of the Asian markets trading in green at this point of time tracking a Wall Street rally as comments from Jerome Powell boosted investor sentiment towards riskier assets. The US markets extended gains on Wednesday on the heels of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks in a speech to the Economic Club of New York that were interpreted as dovish for interest rates.

Back home, banking sector stocks edged higher despite Fitch Ratings’ statement that the decision to restructure loans of up to Rs 25 crore for the MSME sector is a step backwards and the risks to the banking sector will manifest in the next 6-9 months. In scrip specific developments, Tata Motors gained with arm getting UK funding for low-carbon vehicle technologies and ICICI Bank surged on planning to grow retail loan portfolio in Tamil Nadu in FY19.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36017.14, up by 300.19 points or 0.84% after trading in a range of 35946.24 and 36081.27. 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 0.34%, while Small cap index was up by 0.37%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.58%, Energy up by 1.35%, Basic Materials up by 0.95%, Realty up by 0.86% and Bankex was up by 0.79%, while Telecom down by 0.29%, IT down by 0.10%, TECK was down by 0.04% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Vedanta up by 3.08%, Tata Steel up by 2.40%, Reliance Industries up by 2.29%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.71% and Indusind Bank up by 1.71%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 6.12%, ONGC down by 2.35%, Coal India down by 1.31%, Sun Pharma down by 0.69% and NTPC down by 0.49% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to promote manufacturing and economic growth of India, Union Minister Suresh Prabhu has said that the commerce and industry ministry is preparing an action plan for implementing the proposed new industrial policy. He added that ministry looks to prepare the action plan before seeking the Cabinet approval for the new policy.

The proposed policy aims at promoting emerging sectors and modernising existing industries. It will also look to reduce regulatory hurdles and encourage adoption of frontier technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence. With an aim to create jobs for the next two decades, promote foreign technology transfer and attract $100 billion FDI annually, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in August last year had floated a draft industrial policy. This will be the third industrial policy after the ones released in 1956 and 1991.

Besides, about free trade agreements, Prabhu said the ministry has appointed two agencies to prepare a template for negotiating these trade pacts. He also urged the textiles industry to prepare a road map to boost exports. He said the contribution of textiles and apparel can be increased by increasing investments. Prabhu added that a free trade agreement with EU would relieve the pressure on the industry and enhance competitiveness. The ministry is also looking to fast track negotiations of the long stalled proposed free trade agreements with the European Union.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10803.30, up by 74.45 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 10782.35 and 10813.60. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Vedanta up by 3.14%, Hindalco up by 2.82%, Tata Steel up by 2.44%, BPCL up by 2.33% and Bajaj Finserv up by 2.26%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 6.48%, ONGC down by 2.52%, HCL Tech down by 1.45%, Coal India down by 1.37% and Bharti Infratel down by 1.02% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 rose 134.64 points or 0.6% to 22,311.66, Taiwan Weighted increased 53.00 points or 0.53% to 9,937.31, Straits Times jumped 25.58 points or 0.82% to 3,120.06, Jakarta Composite surged 84.25 points or 1.39% to 6,075.50, KOSPI added 11.65 points or 0.55% to 2,119.87 and Shanghai Composite was up by 7.25 points or 0.28% to 2,608.99. On the flip side, Hang Seng was down by 35.80 points or 0.13% to 26,646.76.