Indices pare some of gains in early noon session

Markets pared some initial gains but continued to trade in green in early noon session amid buying in blue chip stocks from various sectors. Buying in Realty, IT, TECK and Telecom stocks helped markets to trade higher. Investors got some support with Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg statement that the government is close to meet fiscal deficit target of 3.4% for 2018-19. The government in the interim Budget in February revised upward the fiscal deficit target to 3.4% from 3.3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimated earlier for the financial year ended March 31. Some solace also came in as the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has said that it added 1.07 crore new taxpayers in financial year 2018 (FY18) as compared to 86.16 lakh new ITR filers added during financial year 2017 (FY17), showing the positive impact of demonetization. CBDT stated that demonetization had a phenomenal positive impact on the widening of tax base and direct tax collections. However, gains remain limited as bankers are non-committal on immediately passing on the second successive rate cut by the central bank and the more liquidity easing measures. For the second consecutive time, the monetary policy committee voted to cut the benchmark rates by 25 bps to 6 percent. In the February policy review as well the repo rate was slashed by a similar quantum.

On the global front, Asian market were trading mostly in green, as US President Donald Trump said that the United States and China are close to entering into a trade agreement and something very ‘monumental, could be announced in next four weeks. Back on street, on scrip specific development, GHCL traded higher on the bourses as the company is going to consider the proposal for captive power supply for yarn division and approval of investment therein.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38731.87, up by 47.15 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 38707.45 and 38908.95. There were 15 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.32%, while Small cap index was up by 0.43%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.34%, IT up by 0.83%, TECK up by 0.75%, Telecom up by 0.58% and Basic Materials was up by 0.55%, while FMCG down by 0.35%, PSU down by 0.33%, Power down by 0.31%, Utilities down by 0.20% and Energy was down by 0.15% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.72%, Infosys up by 1.30%, Tata Steel up by 1.04%, Indusind Bank up by 0.96% and Yes Bank was up by 0.91%. On the flip side, SBI down by 1.48%, Tata Motors down by 0.99%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.95%, Power Grid Corporation down by 0.85% and Hero MotoCorp was down by 0.85% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings in its latest report has retained India's sovereign rating at the lowest investment grade of 'BBB-' with a stable outlook. It noted that a weak fiscal position continues to constrain country’s sovereign ratings. In this regard, it said that the next government's medium-term fiscal policy will be of particular importance from a rating perspective.

For the thirteenth year in a row, Fitch has rated India at 'BBB-'. It had last upgraded India's sovereign rating from 'BB+' to 'BBB-' with a stable outlook on August 1, 2006. Besides, it affirmed the country's long-term foreign-currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BBB-' with a stable outlook. According to the report, India's ratings balance a strong medium-term growth outlook and relative external resilience stemming from strong foreign reserve buffers, against high public debt, a weak financial sector and some lagging structural factors.

The report further said that a robust growth outlook continues to support India's credit profile. It expects country’s Gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.8 percent in the fiscal year ending March 2020 (FY 20) and 7.1 percent in FY21, buoyed by accommodative monetary policy, easing of bank regulations, and government spending.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11611.80, up by 13.80 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 11609.50 and 11666.40. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 2.48%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.66%, Eicher Motors up by 1.46%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.40% and Indian Oil Corporation was up by 1.39%. On the flip side, SBI down by 1.48%, Tata Motors down by 1.26%, Britannia down by 1.16%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.97% and Power Grid Corporation was down by 0.93% were the top losers.

Asian market were trading mostly in green; KOSPI rose 4.29 points or 0.19% to 2,210.82, Straits Times advanced 10.66 points or 0.32% to 3,326.87 and Nikkei 225 was up by 70.84 points or 0.33% to 21,795.79. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was down by 3.21 points or 0.05% to 6,491.42.