Barometer gauges maintain gains in early noon session

Stock markets continued to maintain their gains in the early noon session due to buying in IT, TECK and Energy sectors. Besides, Infosys, TCS and HCl were contributing the most gains to Sensex, while Tech Mahindra, Hindalco and Reliance Industries were contributing the most gains to Nifty. Sentiments remained positive with Union Minister Suresh Prabhu’s statement that India will aim to receive USD 100 billion in foreign direct investments in the next two years and special industrial clusters are being created for countries like Japan, South Korea, China and Russia where their companies can invest and operate. Further, some support also came in after a private report which stated that the central government would release Rs 286.15 billion before the end of this month towards a fresh tranche of funds to recapitalise state-run banks. In stock specific movement, shares of L&T were up as its construction arm bagged orders worth Rs 2,357 crore.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, as the investors sentiment was boosted after White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett, in a television interview, assured that US President Donald Trump had no intention of firing the chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell. Back home, NBFC stocks remained in buzz with a private report stating that the higher rated NBFCs have done better than most other borrowers, with their increase in costs being lower than rise in banks’ weighted average lending rate.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35930.03, up by 280.09 points or 0.79% after trading in a range of 35823.73 and 36041.24. There were 21 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.31%, while Small cap index was up by 0.65%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.97%, TECK up by 1.75%, Energy up by 1.19%, FMCG up by 0.75%, Realty up by 0.48%, while Power down by 0.25%, PSU was down by 0.04% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 2.44%, TCS up by 2.25%, Reliance Industries up by 2.08%, Indusind Bank up by 1.31% and HCL Tech was up by 1.29%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 0.82%, Coal India down by 0.79%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.47%, NTPC down by 0.45% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 0.34% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, tightening up standards for e-commerce firms with foreign investments, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has barred e-commerce websites like Flipkart and Amazon from selling products of companies where they hold stakes and also banned exclusive marketing arrangements that could influence product price. The move, which will come into effect from February 1, 2019, comes against the backdrop of several complaints being flagged by domestic traders on heavy discounts being given by e-commerce players to consumers.

The revised policy on foreign direct investment in online retail, issued by the commerce and industry ministry, stated that these firms have to offer equal services or facilities to all its vendors without discrimination. The revised norms are aimed at protecting the interest of domestic players, who have to face tough competition from e-retailers having deep pockets from foreign investors. The move would completely prevent influencing prices by e-commerce players. This will also ensure better enforcement of FDI guidelines in e-commerce companies.

The policy says a vendor will not be permitted to sell more than 25 percent of its products on an online platform of a single e-marketplace firm. Inventory of a vendor will be deemed to be controlled by e-commerce marketplace entity if more than 25 per cent of purchases of such vendor are from the marketplace entity or its group companies. As per the current policy, the government has permitted 100 percent FDI in the market place e-commerce activities while FDI is prohibited for inventory-based activities.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10803.85, up by 74.00 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 10773.90 and 10834.20. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 2.51%, TCS up by 2.36%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.19%, Reliance Industries up by 1.99% and Hindalco up by 1.40%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 2.20%, HPCL down by 2.13%, Indian Oil Corp. down by 1.34%, Coal India down by 0.81% and Power Grid Corpn. down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Nikkei 225 surged 721.81 points or 3.73% to 20,048.87, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 157.38 points or 1.66% to 9,636.37, Straits Times advanced 58.49 points or 1.94% to 3,069.64, Jakarta Composite soared 43.37 points or 0.71% to 6,171.22, KOSPI was up by 0.36 points or 0.02% to 2,028.37.

On the other hand, Shanghai Composite declined 1.90 points or 0.08% to 2,496.39 and Hang Seng was down by 42.12 points or 0.16% to 25,609.26.