Bourses trim some gains

Key Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some of their gains in late afternoon session, despite firm opening in European markets. Sentiments got affected with India Ratings and Research’s report stating that farm loan waivers announced by a number of states recently will adversely impact the combined state government capex spending. Traders took note of Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas’ statement that insolvency law is a game-changer but non-adherence to timelines and inordinate delay in admission of cases are major concerns. He also said the law has already impacted the behaviour of borrowers and lenders.  However, the trade remained in green, aided by the commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu’s statement that that India will aim to receive $100 billion of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the next two years, from different sectors. He also noted that the country would remain a top destination for foreign investors in the next year 2019.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, tracking overnight rally on Wall Street and strong gains in Asian markets. Easing worries about the tenure of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell after Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said Powell's job was not in jeopardy, and bargain hunting after recent losses, pushed up stock prices. Back home, on the sectoral front, stocks related to tea industry were under pressure, amid a research report by Crisil showing that profit margins of domestic tea planters are expected to contract in the coming two financial years due to wage hike, increasing production and muted export realization.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35799.56, up by 149.62 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 35781.95 and 36041.24. There were 15 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.33%, while Small cap index was up by 0.41%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.59%, TECK up by 1.43%, Energy up by 1.04%, FMCG up by 0.88% and Utilities up by 0.41%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.37%, Telecom down by 0.28%, Auto down by 0.21%, Power down by 0.19% and PSU down by 0.18% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 2.48%, Reliance Industries up by 1.92%, TCS up by 1.51%, Indusind Bank up by 1.08% and ITC up by 0.96%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.35%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.27%, Coal India down by 1.15%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 0.91% and SBI down by 0.87% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with various efforts being taken by government to attract overseas investments, the commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu has said that India will aim to receive $100 billion of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the next two years, from different sectors. He also noted that the country would remain a top destination for foreign investors in the next year 2019.

The minister mentioned that special industrial clusters are being created for countries like Japan, South Korea, China and Russia where their companies can invest and operate. He also highlighted that the commerce ministry has identified companies, sectors and countries which holds huge potential for investments in India.

Further, Prabhu said that the ministry would look at all sectoral issues that may come in the way to attracting overseas investments, adding that the country will also be happy to welcome firms from Europe and the US who want to move out of other countries and set up manufacturing bases in India.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10773.35, up by 43.50 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 10764.45 and 10834.20. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 2.35%, GAIL India up by 2.22%, Reliance Industries up by 1.87%, Zee Entertainment up by 1.87% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.56%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.33%, BPCL down by 1.11%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.98%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.92% and Indian Oil Corporation down by 0.78% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Straits Times advanced 34.90 points or 1.16% to 3,046.05, KOSPI rose 0.43 points or 0.02% to 2,028.44, Nikkei 225 surged 750.56 points or 3.88% to 20,077.62, Jakarta Composite soared 62.79 points or 1.02% to 6,190.64 and Taiwan Weighted strengthened 162.57 points or 1.72% to 9,641.56. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 15.20 points or 0.61% to 2,483.09 and Hang Seng was down by 172.50 points or 0.67% to 25,478.88.

European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 gained 2.28 points or 0.03% to 6,688.27 and France’s CAC rose 32.31 points or 0.70% to 4,658.70. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX was down by 63.47 points or 0.60% to 10,570.35.