Local equities trim some initial gains

Local equity benchmarks trim some of their initial gains in morning session but continued to trade in green territory. Auto, Healthcare, Telecom and Consumer Durables counters witnessed notable losses, while Realty and Energy sectors edged higher. Some cautiousness came with a report that merchandise export growth slowed again in February to 2.4% from 3.7% in the previous month, although trade deficit narrowed to $9.60 billion from $14.73 billion in January, as imports contracted by 5.4%, the worst fall since August 2016. However, the downfall is arrested with a report that US has said that the door is open if India is prepared to bring a serious proposal to the table to address the issues related to trade and market access. Some support came with a report that overseas investors poured in more than Rs 20,400 crore in the domestic capital market in the first half of March, mainly driven by positive global cues.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as investors awaited an update on the state of ongoing trade negotiations between the US and China. Back home, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das will hold discussions on March 26, 2019 with representatives of trade bodies and credit rating agencies on interest rate and steps to boost economic activities.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38186.95, up by 162.63 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 38131.20 and 38369.59. There were 20 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.17%, while Small cap index was up by 0.09%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.51%, Energy up by 1.17%, Oil & Gas up by 0.96%, Power up by 0.86% and BANKEX was up by 0.77%, while Auto down by 1.21%, Consumer Disc down by 0.40%, Healthcare down by 0.20%, Telecom down by 0.10% and Consumer Durables was down by 0.08% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 1.91%, Power Grid up by 1.77%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.71%, Axis Bank up by 1.57% and Tata Motors - DVR was up by 1.50%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.63%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.18%, Vedanta down by 1.00%, ONGC down by 0.87% and HCL Tech was down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to prevent misuse of price-sensitive information by participants in markets, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come out with guidelines for financial instruments. The guidelines have become effective from March 16, 2019. The RBI stated that market participants, either acting independently or in collusion, shall not undertake any action with the intention to manipulate the calculation of a benchmark rate or a reference rate.

The RBI also said that no market participant would carry out a transaction or initiate any action with the sole or dominant intention of influencing a benchmark rate or a reference rate. Further, about regulatory action on market abuse, it said market participants indulging in any such activity are liable to be denied access to markets in one or more instruments for a period that may not exceed one month at a time.

Besides, it added that these directions would exclude transactions executed through the recognised stock exchanges. The directions would not apply to banks and the central government in furtherance of monetary policy, fiscal policy or other public policy objectives.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11480.70, up by 53.85 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 11468.15 and 11530.15. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indian Oil Corporation up by 2.73%, Adani Ports up by 1.96%, Tata Motors up by 1.92%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.87% and Axis Bank was up by 1.78%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.52%, Grasim Industries down by 1.98%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.26%, Vedanta down by 1.22% and Mahindra & Mahindra was down by 0.99% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Hang Seng increased 249.26 points or 0.86% to 29,261.52, Nikkei 225 surged 124.20 points or 0.58% to 21,575.05, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 51.27 points or 0.49% to 10,490.51, Shanghai Composite gained 38.20 points or 1.26% to 3,059.95, Jakarta Composite soared 16.72 points or 0.26% to 6,477.90 and Straits Times was up by 13.05 points or 0.41% to 3,213.23. On the other hand, KOSPI was down by 1.59 points or 0.07% to 2,174.52.