Weak trade continues on Indian bourses

Weak trade continued on Indian bourses in early noon session, with the Sensex and the Nifty losing around two tenth of a percent each. Selling was witnessed at Metal, Oil & Gas and Energy counters, weighed on the domestic sentiment. The broader indices were trading mixed at this point of time. Investors remained cautious as CARE Ratings in its report has said India has of late seen a slight revival in the investment cycle, but that is primarily driven by the increased government spending, and not so much by the private sector. There are also concerns such as a sharp rise in number of investment projects dropped midway. Trader remained pessimistic even after Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has said that India’s export of goods may touch $330 billion in 2018-19. He added that this will be the highest ever growth. The country's merchandise exports have seen high growth in the past six years through sector-specific interventions, focused export promotion initiatives, and quick resolution of issues. Meanwhile, Finance Ministry has notified April 1, 2019, as the date for the implementation of doubling of Goods and Services Tax (GST) exemption limit to Rs 40 lakh. The move is expected to benefit small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red after shockingly weak export data from China heightened market fears about a global economic slowdown, a day after European policymakers slashed its growth forecasts. Back on street, according to the data released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) Domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales declined 1.11 percent to 2,72, 284 units in February from 2,75,346 units in the same month previous year. Domestic car sales were also down 4.33 percent at 1,71,372 units as compared to 1,79,122 units in February 2018.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36669.04, down by 56.38 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 36610.47 and 36753.59. There were 13 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in mixed; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.08%, while Small cap index was up by 0.04%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.34%, Consumer Durables up by 0.33%, Telecom up by 0.28%, Realty up by 0.22% and Power was up by 0.18%, while Metal down by 1.43%, Oil & Gas down by 0.81%, Energy down by 0.57%, Basic Materials down by 0.52%, PSU was down by 0.45% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 2.43%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.89%, TCS up by 0.87%, SBI up by 0.59% and ICICI Bank was up by 0.51%. On the flip side, Tata Motors - DVR down by 3.74%, Tata Motors down by 2.96%, ONGC down by 2.00%, Coal India down by 1.98% and HCL Technologies was down by 1.41% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, lauding success of the government reforms in increasing employment, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has made a prediction that Indian eight sectors -- retail, construction, transport and logistics, tourism and hospitality, handlooms and handicrafts, textiles and apparels, food processing, and automotive--are likely to generate over 10 crore jobs by 2025.

CII President Rakesh Bharti Mittal said that with skill levels rising and substantial growth in startups and new businesses, the quality of jobs is being also enhanced, including through higher incomes. He further listed the various measures like promotion of ease of doing business, tax rates cut for smaller enterprises to 25% & reduction in interest rates, which are creating the right atmosphere for new businesses to flourish, particularly SMEs.

Besides, CII President noted that the social security scheme numbers of EPFO reflect the rising offtake of new jobs in the formal sector and this is in line with the estimates for increase in employment in CII's feedback from large companies.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11037.70, down by 20.50 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 11009.60 and 11048.00. There were 19 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 2.60%, Eicher Motors up by 1.96%, Titan Co up by 1.04%, TCS up by 0.91% and Sun Pharma was up by 0.68%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 3.94%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 3.20%, Tata Motors down by 3.01%, Hindalco down by 2.94% and ONGC was down by 1.91% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in red, Nikkei 225 slipped 428.83 points or 2% to 21,027.18, Hang Seng decreased 462.85 points or 1.61% to 28,316.60, Shanghai Composite declined 95.37 points or 3.07% to 3,011.05, Taiwan Weighted dropped 69.93 points or 0.68% to 10,241.75, KOSPI fell 26.40 points or 1.22% to 2,139.39, Jakarta Composite dropped 51.62 points or 0.8% to 6,406.34 and Straits Times was down by 24.07 points or 0.75% to 3,205.41.