Key gauges extend gains in late trade

Indian equity benchmarks extended their gains in last leg of trade with Sensex surpassing its crucial 37,700 level, while Nifty trading just shy of 11,350 mark. The up-move was mainly led by buying in banking stocks, while stocks related to metal and telecom witnessed beating. Traders shrugged off macro-economic data which came lower than traders’ expectations.  India’s IIP growth slows down to 1.7% in January, while India’s retail inflation surges to 2.57% in February. Sentiments remained optimistic on report that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is going to infuse Rs 12,500 crore into the system through open market operations on March 14, 2019, to increase liquidity into the market.

Firm opening in European counters too aided sentiments ahead of signs of progress on the US-China trade dispute, with Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative, saying that 'major issues' must still be resolved for a successful US-China trade deal. However, Asian markets are trading mostly in red at this point of time on report that British Prime Minister Theresa May lost voting on her second Brexit proposal in a parliamentary showdown. Back home, in scrip specific developments, ITC gained as its biscuit brand collaborates with Fresh Menu for dessert range. However, Jet Airways edged lower on grounding additional four aircraft due to non-payment outstanding to lessors.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37755.60, up by 219.94 points or 0.59% after trading in a range of 37478.87 and 37777.78. There were 14 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.32%, while Small cap index was down by 0.30%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.33%, Realty up by 0.82%, Energy up by 0.26% and FMCG was up by 0.13%, while Telecom down by 2.12%, Metal down by 1.81%, Basic Materials down by 0.95%, Utilities down by 0.94% and Power was down by 0.89% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 4.29%, Indusind Bank up by 3.98%, HDFC Bank up by 2.62%, HCL Tech up by 1.84% and Bajaj Finance was up by 1.73%. On the flip side, Vedanta down by 3.20%, Bharti Airtel down by 3.08%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 1.99%, ONGC down by 1.94% and Coal India was down by 1.92% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) in its latest report has said that public sector firms across half of the Indian states along with the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector are driving blockchain adoption in India to address different challenges of citizen service delivery. It said the state government is also ensuring a progressive approach to impart a conducive framework for start-ups and niche service providers to participate in these initiatives.

According to the report, there are currently more than 40 blockchain initiatives being undertaken by public sector companies with about 92% of those in pilot phase and 8% in the production phase. It further said that enterprises across all key industries in India are also identifying different applications of blockchain. It also observed that the BFSI sector has seen the highest adoption, but other industries such as healthcare, retail and logistics are also accelerating rapidly.

The industry body has stated that start-ups are involved in over 50% of the blockchain projects across various industries in the country. It said “even as the demand for blockchain-based talent is growing at 40% each quarter, it is time to reiterate the importance of a skilled workforce. It is imperative to prepare our workforce through training programmes and skill initiatives in this field, so that service providers in the country don't fall behind the global standards.”

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11347.95, up by 46.75 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 11276.60 and 11350.10. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 4.54%, Indusind Bank up by 4.19%, HDFC Bank up by 2.64%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.86% and HCL Tech was up by 1.76%. On the flip side, Indian Oil Corporation own by 3.50%, Vedanta down by 3.42%, Bharti Airtel down by 3.35%, Zee Entertainment down by 2.70% and JSW Steel was down by 2.21% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 213.45 points or 0.99% to 21,290.24, Hang Seng decreased 113.42 points or 0.39% to 28,807.45, Straits Times trembled 17.32 points or 0.54% to 3,194.93, KOSPI fell 8.77 points or 0.41% to 2,148.41 and   Shanghai Composite was down by 33.36 points or 1.09% to 3,026.95.

On the other hand, Jakarta Composite soared 17.79 points or 0.28% to 6,371.56 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 29.99 points or 0.29% to 10,373.32.

European Markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 4.62 points or 0.06% to 7,155.77 and France’s CAC was up by 21.92 points or 0.42% to 5,292.17. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX was down by 6.38 points or 0.06% to 11,517.79.