Local equities hold positive momentum

Local equity benchmarks continue to hold positive momentum in the morning deals, with Sensex and Nifty gaining more than 350 and 100 points, respectively. Investors were seen piling positions in Bankex, Consumer Durables and Healthcare sector, while there were no losers on the BSE sectoral indices. Market participants took note of a private report stating that India has been getting more foreign investment than China. In 2018, India saw more than $38 billion of inbound deals compared with China’s $32 billion, buoyed by stable fundamentals. On the sectoral front, PSU banking stock were in focus, the government may infuse Rs 28,615 crore into seven PSBs through recapitalisation bonds by the end of December 2018. With an aim to help public sector banks (PSBs) to come out of the Reserve Bank of India’s Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework and enhancing the lending capacity of the bank. Traders ignored a private report stating that the fiscal situation of the Narendra Modi government has worsened with the fiscal deficit in the first eight months of the financial year 2018-19 hitting 115% of the budget estimates.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after a substantial late-stage rebound by US stocks overnight in a volatile session. However, gains are modest in most markets as investors remained cautious amid lingering concerns about the global economic outlook, higher interest rates and the ongoing US government shutdown. Back home, India Ratings study stated that farm-loan waivers announced by a number of states could adversely impact the combined state government spending on capital assets.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36161.55, up by 354.27 points or 0.99% after trading in a range of 35911.99 and 36170.57. There were 27 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.66%, while Small cap index was up by 0.76%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.24%, Consumer Durables up by 1.22%, Basic Materials up by 1.16%, Healthcare up by 1.14% and Realty was up by 0.93%, while there were no losers on the sectoral indices.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 3.09%, Yes Bank up by 2.41%, HDFC up by 1.94%, IndusInd Bank up by 1.89% and Vedanta was up by 1.61%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 2.94%, NTPC down by 0.34%, TCS down by 0.05% and Asian Paints was down by 0.04% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, With an aim to help public sector banks (PSBs) to come out of the Reserve Bank of India’s Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework and enhancing the lending capacity of them, the government may infuse Rs 28,615 crore into seven PSBs through recapitalisation bonds by the end of December 2018.  The amount infused will help the banks meet regulatory capital requirement, and its disbursement might take place before December 31, 2018.

Out of these seven PSBs, it is expected that Bank of India will get the highest amount of Rs 10,086 crore, followed by Oriental Bank of Commerce, which might get Rs 5,500 crore, Bank of Maharashtra may get Rs 4,498 crore, UCO Bank (Rs 3,056 crore) and United Bank of India (Rs 2,159 crore) through recapitalisation bonds.
Earlier, the government had announced an infusion of Rs 65,000 crore in PSBs in 2018-19, of which Rs 23,000 crore has already been disbursed, while Rs 42,000 crore is remaining.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10880.30, up by 100.50 points or 0.93% after trading in a range of 10817.15 and 10887.50. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Sun Pharma up by 3.45%, Yes Bank up by 2.64%, UPL up by 2.27%, Titan Co up by 2.25% and JSW Steel was up by 2.12%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 3.20%, NTPC down by 0.67%, Asian Paints down by 0.53%, ONGC down by 0.10% and Bharti Infratel was down by 0.07% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 72.18 points or 0.28% to 25,551.06, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 43.83 points or 0.45% to 9,685.39, Straits Times advanced 22.02 points or 0.72% to 3,066.76, KOSPI rose 17.61 points or 0.87% to 2,046.05, Jakarta Composite soared 13.33 points or 0.22% to 6,203.97 and Shanghai Composite gained 3.81 points or 0.15% to 2,486.90.

On the other hand, Nikkei 225 was down by 36.50 points or 0.18% to 20,041.12.