Indian bourses trade marginally higher in afternoon deals

Indian equity indices, altering between positive and negative territory, were now trading marginally higher in afternoon session, as Metal, FMCG, Basic Materials and Healthcare shares witnessed buying. Traders took some support with the Retirement fund body, Employment Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in its latest ‘Net Payroll Data’ report showing that India created 7.32 lakh new jobs in the month of November 2018. The job creation increased from the revised figure of 666437 in October to 732083 in November. A stronger rupee against the dollar and easing crude prices too supported the markets.  However, gains were limited as anxiety remained among the local traders ahead of December quarter earnings of ITC, Bharti Infratel and InterGlobe Aviation. Traders also took note of a report that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is worried that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which processes nearly half of all the digital payments across the country, may become a monopoly and be a too-big-to-fail entity in India's retail payments sector.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, as concerns over the outlook for global economic growth and the ongoing Sino-U.S. trade war kept investors away from riskier assets. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36458.60, up by 13.96 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 36363.61 and 36521.47. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.45%, while Small cap index was up by 0.35%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.88%, FMCG up by 0.85%, Basic Materials up by 0.69%, Healthcare up by 0.60% and Utilities up by 0.34%, while Realty down by 0.25%, IT down by 0.25%, Auto down by 0.19% and TECK down by 0.09% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 2.55%, Sun Pharma up by 2.19%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.57%, Tata Steel up by 1.47% and Bajaj Finance up by 1.16%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 0.84%, TCS down by 0.81%, Indusind Bank down by 0.74%, Infosys down by 0.71% and Power Grid down by 0.63% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, global rating agency Moody’s Investors Service in its latest report has said that Indian insurance and reinsurance industry will register strong growth on the back of robust Gross domestic product (GDP) expansion and evolving regulatory regime. It indicated that during fiscal 2018, total gross premiums for the non-life and life insurance sectors grew 11.5 percent to Rs 6.1 trillion, bringing the five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to 11 per cent.

Moody's also projected India’s real GDP to grow at 7.4 percent in fiscal 2019 and at 7.3 percent in 2019-20, making India one of the world's fastest-growing economy. It also said that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is proactively introducing regulations that will support insurers' balance sheets and improve their access to capital, a credit positive. According to the report, liberalisation of the reinsurance sector - with the admission of foreign reinsurers since 2017 and IRDAI's steps to ensure that they can compete with incumbents - will specifically benefit the non-life sector. It noted that regulatory reforms will also improve the sector's capital strength.

Rating agency further informed that in 2015, IRDAI raised the ceiling on foreign ownership of Indian insurers to 49 percent from 26 percent, encouraging global players to buy holdings in local entities. It added that the government's launch of a new program in 2018 to provide health insurance for 100 million families is credit positive as it will help grow health premiums and provide insurers with cross-selling opportunities.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10933.55, up by 10.80 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 10905.50 and 10942.55. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Zee Entertainment up by 3.03%, Yes Bank up by 2.42%, Wipro up by 2.25%, Sun Pharma up by 2.15% and Hindustan Unilever up by 1.53%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.04%, Infosys down by 0.86%, Power Grid down by 0.79%, HDFC down by 0.73% and Indusind Bank down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng increased 15.71 points or 0.06% to 27,021.16, KOSPI rose 10.01 points or 0.47% to 2,127.78, Jakarta Composite soared 6.94 points or 0.11% to 6,475.50 and Shanghai Composite gained 0.21 points or 0.01% to 2,579.91.

On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 13.73 points or 0.43% to 3,178.98, Nikkei 225 slipped 29.19 points or 0.14% to 20,593.72 and Taiwan Weighted dropped 48.26 points or 0.49% to 9,846.40.