Bourses trade volatile

Indian equity markets were trading volatile in late afternoon session, on account of weak cues from European markets. Losses led by the broader indices along with sluggish growth of microeconomic indicators too weighed on markets. The growth of eight core infrastructure industries slowed down to 2.1 percent in February 2019 as compared to 5.4% in February 2018, due to fall in output of crude oil and refinery products, while the Indian manufacturing sector lost its growth momentum in the month of March, on the back of softer increases in new orders, production, input buying and employment. As per the survey report, the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) - a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance - eased to 52.6 in March from 54.3 in February. However, the markets managed to keep their heads in green, supported by the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) statement that it will inject long-term liquidity worth $5 billion into the banking system through dollar-rupee buy-sell swap for a tenure of three years. The swap auction will be held on April 23, 2019. 

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, as UK construction sector continued to shrink in March, albeit at a slightly slower pace, driven by sustained weakness in commercial work and civil engineering. The survey data from IHS Markit showed that the CIPS construction purchasing managers' index, or PMI, rose to 49.7 in March from 49.5 in February. However, a reading below 50 suggests decline in activity. However, Asian markets were trading in green.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38963.12, up by 91.25 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 38846.96 and 39058.80. There were 17 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.24%, while Small cap index down by 0.39%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.79%, Telecom up by 1.35%, IT up by 0.79%, TECK up by 0.70% and Auto up by 0.68%, while Basic Materials down by 0.90%, Metal down by 0.77%, Oil & Gas down by 0.71%, Energy down by 0.60% and Healthcare down by 0.57% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 6.41%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 5.46%, Bharti Airtel up by 4.47%, TCS up by 2.18% and Power Grid up by 1.64%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 2.14%, Tata Steel down by 1.20%, HCL Tech. down by 1.17%, ICICI Bank down by 1.15% and Sun Pharma down by 1.11% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Indian manufacturing sector lost its growth momentum in the month of March, on the back of softer increases in new orders, production, input buying and employment. As per the survey report, the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) - a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance - eased to 52.6 in March from 54.3 in February. However, the PMI reading stood above the watershed 50 mark, which differentiates growth from contraction.

According the report, the increase in new orders was the slowest in six months, while competitive conditions and the upcoming elections reportedly curbed the upturn. Further, new orders from external markets also witnessed softer growth in the reported month. The report found rise in manufacturing employment but it stood weakest in eight months, as 92% of companies left payrolls unchanged amid adequate manpower to handle existing workloads.

On the inflation front, input costs and output charges saw softer increases. In both cases, rates of inflation were below their respective long-run averages. Meanwhile, business sentiment strengthened to a seven-month high during March. Companies predicted that marketing initiatives, capacity expansion plans and favourable public policies after the elections would support production growth over the course of the coming 12 months.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11678.60, up by 9.45 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 11655.85 and 11714.55. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 6.30%, Bharti Airtel up by 4.23%, Eicher Motors up by 2.86%, GAIL India up by 2.26% and TCS up by 2.25%. On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 3.98%, BPCL down by 3.09%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.25%, Grasim Industries down by 2.05% and JSW Steel down by 2.04% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted gained 47.67 points or 0.45% to 10,690.30, Straits Times advanced 23.69 points or 0.73% to 3,274.20, Hang Seng increased 18.21 points or 0.06% to 29,580.23, Shanghai Composite gained 10.74 points or 0.34% to 3,181.10, KOSPI rose 8.90 points or 0.41% to 2,177.18 and Jakarta Composite soared 6.69 points or 0.1% to 6,459.30. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was down by 3.72 points or 0.02% to 21,505.31.

All European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC lost 1.00 points or 0.02% to 5,404.53 and Germany’s DAX fell 4.87 points or 0.04% to 11,677.12, while UK’s FTSE 100 was up by 34.37 points or 0.47% to 7,351.75.