Sensex jumps over 180 points, Nifty recaptures 10900 level

Stock markets were trading in positive terrain in early noon session due to buying in Telecom, Energy and Oil & Gas sectors, amid encouraging 3Q earnings by some more companies. Amongst individual stocks, Yes Bank, Technologies, Infosys and HCL Technologies were witnessing maximum buying. Sentiment on the street was positive on report that apex exporters’ body, Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) has stated that India’s exports to China jumped 32% to $8.46 billion in the June-November of 2018, as compared to $6.37 billion in June-November 2017. It added that the country was mainly benefited from the tariff war between the US and China. Some support also came on report that India has emerged as one of the world's most-dynamic economies, developing at a great pace and keeping at the forefront of technology and social innovation.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green, buoyed by gains in US technology shares, but gains were capped by worries over slowing growth in Europe and caution ahead of several key events next week including US-China trade talks. Back on street, on scrip specific developments, Yes bank gained despite reporting 6.97% fall in its net profit at Rs 1001.85 crore for the quarter under review as compared to Rs 1076.87 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Pfizer surged on reporting a rise of 51.24% in its net profit at Rs 131.94 crore for third quarter ended December 31, 2018 as compared to Rs 87.24 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36377.49, up by 182.39 points or 0.50% after trading in a range of 36216.41 and 36474.48. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.11%, while Small cap index was down by 0.03%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.33%, Energy up by 0.88%, Oil & Gas up by 0.66%, FMCG up by 0.55% and TECK was up by 0.47%, while Realty down by 0.83%, Basic Materials down by 0.61%, Utilities down by 0.29%, consumer discretionary stocks down by 0.15% and Power was down by 0.10% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 5.75%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.70%, HCL Technologies up by 1.60%, Tata Motors up by 1.20% and Axis Bank was up by 1.11%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.48%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.36%, Tata Steel down by 0.27%, Asian Paints down by 0.22% and Mahindra & Mahindra was down by 0.18% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, World Trade Organization’s (WTO) chief Roberto Azevedo has warned that the global trading system and the WTO are heading for the ‘dark ages’ if urgent steps are not taken. Therefore, he said that the world needs a global multilateral agreement for e-commerce. He also emphasized that the multilateral trading system created after the Second World War has never seen challenges this big.

However, Azevedo argued that the multilateral trading system is viable. He said “we are working to make it even more viable. I don't think a stagnant multilateral system is viable, it has to evolve and respond to the global reality and a world that is changing faster than it ever has before.” He added that this has not been happening so far.

WTO chief said “it's unacceptable that an organisation like the WTO in 2018 was not talking about e-commerce or the digital economy. It's the core of the global evolution today. That's when the reform conversation began.” He also said “the system needs to be updated, modernized, and that's the challenges that we have now. Either the system is updated, or it will lose relevance and disappear. It will be supplanted by other mechanisms. This is a challenge for the global community, not the WTO.”

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10900.70, up by 50.90 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 10858.20 and 10931.70. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Infratel up by 5.19%, Yes Bank up by 5.15%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.70%, HCL Technologies up by 1.82% and UPL was up by 1.71%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 4.36%, Zee Entertainment down by 4.34%, JSW Steel down by 1.52%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.47% and Grasim Industries was down by 1.37% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in green, Hang Seng increased 391.32 points or 1.44% to 27,512.30, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 88.33points or 0.89% to 9,965.45, Straits Times advanced 23.23 points or 0.73% to 3,213.96, Shanghai Composite gained 21.85 points or 0.84% to 2,613.54, Jakarta Composite soared 18.60 points or 0.29% to 6,485.26, KOSPI rose 30.53 points or 1.42% to 2,175.56 and Nikkei 225 was up 208.47 points or 1.01% to 20,782.67.