Sensex, Nifty continue to trade in positive terrain

Stock markets were trading in positive terrain in early noon session due to buying in Energy, IT and Technology sectors. Amongst individual stocks, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Infosys and HCL Technologies were witnessing maximum buying by investors. Sentiment on the street was positive with a private report stating that India and European economic major Netherlands signed Customs Treaty which will boost trade ties between the two countries through an efficient management of customs rules. Some support also came in with central bank Governor Shaktikanta Das’ statement that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will make all efforts to maintain financial stability and to facilitate enabling conditions for sustainable and robust growth. On the sectoral front, Coal related stocks were trading lower as Coal imports in India saw a surge of 6.7 percent to 171.81 million tonne (MT) in the April-December period of the ongoing financial year. Coal imports stood at 161 MT in the April-December period of 2017-18.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green despite data showing the Chinese economy slowed at the end of last year, underlining the urgent need for more stimulus as Beijing wrestles with the United States over trade. Back home, on scrip specific developments, SBI Life gained on reporting 14.76% rise in its net profit at Rs 264.28 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2018 as compared to Rs 230.28 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Besides, Skipper edged up on receiving CE marking certificate from SGS.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36605.29, up by 218.68 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 36351.77 and 36701.03. There were 12 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.05%, while Small cap index was down by 0.26%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.93%, IT up by 1.20%, TECK up by 0.97%, Healthcare up by 0.93% and Oil & Gas up by 0.49%, while Realty down by 1.03%, Telecom down by 0.83%, PSU down by 0.59%, Auto down by 0.36% and Power was down by 0.34% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 3.12%, Sun Pharma up by 2.75%, Infosys up by 1.91%, HCL Technologies up by 1.27% and TCS was up by 1.23%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.29%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.27%, Indusind Bank down by 1.13%, Power Grid Corporation by 1.01% and Bharti Airtel was down by 0.69% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, exporters body Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has sought immediate intervention of the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to resolve payment mechanism issues for Iran and flow of credit to push shipments. FIEO President Ganesh Kumar Gupta said a clarity is required on product coverage under a rupee-based payment mechanism to Iran.

Gupta said the understanding of trade is that if the end use of product is not under the sanctioned list, or exports is not to the Iranian government, it should be allowed for exports under the Rupee Trade Mechanism.  He said “a clarification will help exporters to take such orders and push for quantum jump in our exports to Iran.” He pointed out that banks have expressed their inability to handle documents of exporters for shipments to Central Asian countries, if there is a reference to Bandar Abbas as a transit port in Iran.

Talking about flow of credit to export sector, FIEO President said that there is an about 50 percent drop in export credit in August as compared to the same month last year. He noted that MSME exporters are the worst sufferer and the lack of credit equally affects export performance. He added that there is a need for increasing the flow of credit to export sector by encouraging banks and also ensuring online filing, processing and monitoring of export credit.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10960.65, up by 53.70 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 10885.75 and 10987.45. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Reliance Industries up by 3.17%, Sun Pharma up by 2.71%, Infosys up by 1.93%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.54% and Bajaj Finserv was up by 1.44%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 2.50%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.65%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 1.41%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.39% and Power Grid Corporation was down by 1.16% were the top losers.

Most of the Asian markets were trading in green, Hang Seng increased 69.93 points or 0.26% to 27,160.74, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 53.34 points or 0.54% to 9,889.40, Shanghai Composite gained 8.64 points or 0.33% to 2,604.65, Straits Times advanced 12.68 points or 0.39% to 3,237.02, Nikkei 225 surged 45.78 points or 0.22% to 20,711.85 and Jakarta Composite was up by 18.34 points or 0.28% to 6,466.50.  On the flip side KOSPI was down by 1.50 points or 0.07% to 2,122.78.