Key indices add gains in afternoon deals

Indian equity markets extended their gains in afternoon session on fresh buying by investors. Sentiments remained up-beat with a private survey showing that activity in India's huge service sector accelerated in February, partly due to an increase in domestic new business which induced firms to maintain a solid hiring pace. The Nikkei/IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 52.5 in February from January's 52.2, staying above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction for a ninth straight month. The domestic sentiment was also buoyed by India’s chief economic adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian’s statement that India’s next government will have to bring in land, labour and financial sector reforms to improve the productivity of the manufacturing sector and boost economic growth. Besides, appreciation in Indian rupee also aided the sentiment. Meanwhile, stocks related to coffee sector remained in focus with data showing that Coffee shipments from India, Asia’s third-largest producer and exporter, rose 13.26 per cent to 48,330 tonnes during the first two months of 2019.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, after China cut its economic growth target and pledged measures to support the economy amid growing challenges from rising debt and a dispute over trade and technology with the United States. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36181.19, up by 117.38 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 35926.94 and 36186.24. There were 23 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index surged 1.49%, while Small cap index was up by 2.45%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 2.50%, Auto up by 2.22%, Basic Materials up by 2.19%, Metal up by 2.08% and Oil & Gas up by 1.87%, while IT down by 0.68% and TECK down by 0.59% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 7.44%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 6.54%, Coal India up by 3.46%, Hero MotoCorp up by 3.40% and Axis Bank up by 2.62%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.48%, Infosys down by 0.84%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.57%, HCL Tech. down by 0.46% and TCS down by 0.26% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Indian companies borrowed $2.42 billion from overseas markets in the month of January 2019 through external commercial borrowing (ECB), down by 45 percent from the year-ago period. The borrowings though ECBs were $5.40 billion in January last year.

According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data report, of the total borrowing, $2.27 billion was raised via the automatic route of the ECBs, while the remaining $150 million was taken via the approval route. However, no money was raised through rupee-denominated bonds during the month in 2019 and 2018.

The report further indicated that major borrowers, which tapped resources overseas via approval route, included Indian Oil Corporation ($900 million), Bharat Petroleum Corp ($500 million) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp ($200 million). All three oil marketing firms raised the money for their working capital requirement. Power Grid Corporation raised $228.55 million for power project and Reliance Home Finance raised $35.50 million for lending. Power Finance Corp was the only firm to raise $150 million for sub-lending purpose.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10907.75, up by 44.25 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 10817.00 and 10911.25. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 7.40%, HPCL up by 5.67%, Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 5.34%, Coal India up by 3.61% and Eicher Motors up by 3.51%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.39%, Wipro down by 1.52%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.49%, Infosys down by 0.93% and Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.86% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 95.76 points or 0.44% to 21,726.28, Jakarta Composite dropped 65.00 points or 1% to 6,423.42, Taiwan Weighted dropped 44.62 points or 0.43% to 10,305.26, Straits Times trembled 16.15 points or 0.5% to 3,234.93 and KOSPI fell 11.43 points or 0.52% to 2,179.23.
On the flip side, Shanghai Composite gained 26.61 points or 0.88% to 3,054.19 and Hang Seng was up by 37.82 points or 0.13% to 28,997.41.