Benchmarks trade with traction; Sensex reclaims 36k mark

Indian equity benchmarks made an optimistic start and are trading with traction in early deals with frontline gauges recapturing their crucial 36,000 (Sensex) and 10,850 (Nifty) levels. Traders took some solace on signs of an ease in Indo-Pak tensions and firm Asian cues. Markets participants shrugged off the Central Statistics Office’s (CSO) data stating that India’s economic growth slowed to a 5-quarter low of 6.6% in October-December period of this fiscal on the back of lower farm and manufacturing growth and weaker consumer demand. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant prices (2011-12) had grown at 7 per cent in October-December quarter of the previous financial year. Traders also ignored the government’s data showing that eight core industries grew at the slowest pace in 19 months in January as the production of crude oil, refinery products and electricity contracted.

On the global front, all the Asian markets are trading in green at this point of time after a report suggested that the leaders of China and the U.S. could be endorsing a trade deal in weeks. The US markets ended lower on Thursday following data that showed US economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter even as it topped expectations.

Back home, banking stocks edged higher as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley assured government funding support to public sector banks and hoped that the 6 lenders which remain under the RBI's prompt corrective action framework will soon come out of it. In scrip specific developments, Bajaj Auto surged on reporting 10% rise in February sales and Escorts edged higher with its Agri Machinery Segment reporting 12% growth in tractor sales in February.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36084.26, up by 216.82 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 36008.39 and 36140.67. There were 28 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index surged 1.04%, while Small cap index was up by 1.19%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.50%, Basic Materials up by 1.25%, Utilities up by 1.00%, Auto up by 0.95% and PSU was up by 0.92%, while Telecom down by 1.29% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Vedanta up by 2.57%, Coal India up by 1.71%, Yes Bank up by 1.60%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 1.43% and ICICI Bank up by 1.22%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 3.33%, ONGC down by 0.30% and Power Grid Corporation down by 0.03% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in signs of the Indian economy losing steam ahead of the general election, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to a five-quarter low of 6.6% in October-December period of this fiscal (FY19), as compared to 7% growth in the same quarter of FY18, on the back of lower farm and manufacturing growth and weaker consumer demand. Also, economic growth estimate for FY19 has been revised downwards to 7% from the earlier estimate of 7.2%. This is the lowest growth in the last five years. However, the Q3 growth rate, which was lower than the revised estimate of 7% in the previous quarter and 8% in April-June, was faster than China's 6.4% growth for the three months to December 2018. Thus, India retains its tag of the world's fastest-growing major economy.

The Central Statistics Office, in its second advance estimate said that GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in Q3 of 2018-19 is estimated at Rs 35.00 lakh crore, as against Rs 32.85 lakh crore in Q3 of 2017-18, showing a growth rate of 6.6%. GDP growth rates for Q1 and Q2 of 2018-19 at Constant Prices are 8.0% and 7.0% respectively. Gross Value Added (GVA) at Basic Prices at Constant (2011-12) Prices in Q3 of 2018-19 is estimated at Rs 32.31 lakh crore, as against Rs 30.39 lakh crore in Q3 of 2017-18, showing a growth rate of 6.3%.

GDP at Current Prices in the year 2018-19 is likely to attain a level of Rs 190.54 lakh crore, as against Rs 170.95 lakh crore in 2017-18, showing a growth rate of 11.5%. GVA at current Basic Prices in Q3 of 2018-19 is estimated at Rs 43.76 lakh crore, as against Rs 39.65 lakh crore in Q3 of 2017-18, showing a growth of 10.4%.

The data showed that farm sector GVA will grow at 2.7% in 2018-19 compared to 5% a year ago. Mining and quarrying growth for the full fiscal has been estimated at 1.2% as against 5.1% in 2017-18. However, it estimated that manufacturing growth would be higher at 8.1% compared to 5.9% in the previous financial year. The construction sector continued to show signs of an upswing, growing at 9.6% in Q3, up from 8.5% in Q2. The CSO pegged the sector’s full-year growth at 8.9%, up from 5.6% the year before, on the back of infrastructure spending push by the government.

The per capita income in real terms (at 2011-12 Prices) during 2018-19 is likely to attain a level of Rs 92,718 as compared to Rs 87,623 for the year 2017-18. The growth rate in per capita income is estimated at 5.8% during 2018-19, as against 5.7% in the previous year. Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) at Current Prices is estimated at Rs 113.33 lakh crore in 2018-19 as against Rs 100.83 lakh crore in 2017-18. Government Final Consumption Expenditure (GFCE) at Current Prices is estimated at Rs 21.31 lakh crore in 2018-19 as against Rs 18.86 lakh crore in 2017-18. Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) at Current Prices is estimated at Rs 55.02 lakh crore in 2018-19 as against Rs 48.97 lakh crore in 2017-18.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10860.20, up by 67.70 points or 0.63% after trading in a range of 10839.65 and 10871.60. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Vedanta up by 2.63%, Indiabulls Housing up by 2.52%, Yes Bank up by 1.62%, Coal India up by 1.62% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.60%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 3.24%, Cipla down by 1.12%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.77%, Wipro down by 0.34% and ONGC down by 0.34% were the top losers.

All the Asian counters are trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 247.68 points or 1.16% to 21,632.84, Straits Times gained 14.72 points or 0.46% to 3,227.41, Hang Seng jumped 127.65 points or 0.45% to 28,760.83, Jakarta Composite added 54.65 points or 0.85% to 6,498.00 and Shanghai Composite was up by 4.10 points or 0.14% to 2,945.05.