Local equities continue firm trade

Local equity benchmarks continued firm trade in morning session, with Sensex and Nifty garnering gains of around one third a percent. Indices like Auto, Telecom and Healthcare were, as usual, inched higher with the up-move on the benchmarks. Buoyant Mid-caps and Small-caps also elevated around 1% gains on their respective front line stocks. Traders took note of a private report stating that Reserve Bank of India headed by a new chief, Shaktikanta Das, will probably drop its hawkish bias, the first step toward a possible interest-rate cut this year as inflation drifts lower and the economy slows. Sentiments also got boosted with Moody's Investors Service’s statement that the direct cash transfer programme for farmers and tax relief steps for the middle-class will give a fiscal stimulus of about 0.45 percent of GDP, and support growth through increased consumption, though at a fiscal cost.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, over weak cues overnight from Wall Street as higher commodity prices lifted resources stocks. Optimism about US-China trade talks, after US Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he and other officials will travel to Beijing next week. Back home, on the sectoral front, Power stocks were in focus, as a report stated that the government gave its nod to a proposal for setting up 12,000 MW grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) power projects with an estimated viability gap funding of Rs 8,580 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37098.57, up by 123.34 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 36966.00 and 37145.82. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.98%, while Small cap index was up by 0.83%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.49%, Healthcare up by 1.40%, Consumer Disc up by 0.92%, Telecom up by 0.87% and Basic Materials was up by 0.80%, while Utilities down by 0.29% and Metal was down by 0.06% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 4.57%, Bajaj Auto up by 3.20%, Tata Motors up by 2.55%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 2.38% and Yes Bank was up by 2.27%. On the flip side, IndusInd Bank down by 0.81%, HDFC down by 0.55%, HDFC Bank down by 0.24%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.23% and Power Grid was down by 0.08% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to meet additional expenses, the government has decided to raise additional Rs 36,000 crore through dated securities during the current financial year (FY19). The government will borrow additional Rs 36,000 crore through two tranches of Rs 18,000 crore each during March 11-15 and March 18-22. As per the calendar issued previously, the last tranche for borrowing through government bonds was to complete in the week ending March 8, 2019.

The finance ministry stated that in order to enable institutional and retail investors plan their investments efficiently and provide transparency and stability to the government securities market, an indicative calendar for issuance of government dated securities for the remaining period of the fiscal year 2018-19 (February 4 to March 31) has been prepared in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The Ministry said the government, in consultation with the RBI, will continue to have the flexibility to bring about modifications in the calendar in terms of notified amount, issuance period, maturities and others. The government may also issue different types of instruments, including instruments having non-standard maturity and floating rate bonds (FRBs), depending upon the requirement of the government.

Besides, the Ministry added the government reserves the right to exercise the greenshoe option to retain additional subscription up to Rs 1,000 crore each against any one or more of the above security. Though, the exercise of the greenshoe option within one or more securities in an auction will be within the overall notified amount for the auction.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11098.55, up by 36.10 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 11055.95 and 11101.85. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Sun Pharma up by 4.78%, Zee Entertainment up by 3.74%, Bajaj Auto up by 3.50% and Yes Bank was up by 2.75% and Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 2.65%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 1.59%, Adani Ports down by 0.95%, GAIL India down by 0.77%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.75% and Titan Company was down by 0.61% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Nikkei 225 slipped 154.51 points or 0.74% to 20,719.55, Jakarta Composite dropped 14.56 points or 0.22% to 6,533.32 and KOSPI was down by 1.32 points or 0.06% to 2,202.14. On the other hand, Straits Times was up by 29.75 points or 0.93% to 3,214.31.