Indian bourses trade marginally lower in noon deals

Erasing all the initial gains, Indian equity indices were trading marginally lower in afternoon session, as investors awaited fourth-quarter corporate earnings of heavyweights TCS and Infosys. Some caution also prevailed in the markets ahead of key economic data for February IIP and March CPI, to be released later in the day. The sentiments turned pessimistic with report that after 108 economists and former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Chief Economist Gita Gopinath expressed doubt over India's growth rate, saying that there are still some issues with the way India calculates it. However, losses were limited as traders found some support with the RBI’s data showing that foreign investment of Indian companies grew 18 per cent to $2.69 billion in March as compared to the year-ago period. Meanwhile, in a bid to foster higher inclusive growth, equity, efficiency and transparency, the Ministry of Rural Development has made recommendations to the Finance Commission, which dwelled upon the changing structure of rural economy; Gram Panchayat led, data driven and accountable development approach; governance reforms for better outcomes and other specific proposals for rural development.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, as volatile week drew to a close with investors preparing for the start of the corporate earnings season. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38585.52, down by 21.49 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 38554.79 and 38721.01. There were 11 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.04%, while Small cap index was up by 0.13%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.90%, Realty up by 0.55%, Utilities up by 0.53%, Power up by 0.32% and Healthcare up by 0.27%, while Telecom down by 0.78%, Capital Goods down by 0.57%, Metal down by 0.27%, TECK down by 0.18% and Industrials down by 0.16% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 1.55%, Asian Paints up by 1.08%, Hero MotoCorp up by 0.75%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.61% and Bajaj Auto up by 0.60%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.58%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 1.44%, Tata Motors down by 1.26%, HCL Tech. down by 1.10% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.01% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data on outward foreign direct investment showed that Indian companies’ foreign investment grew 18 percent to $2.69 billion in March 2019 as compared to same month year ago. It indicated that the domestic companies made investment of $2.28 billion in their subsidiaries and wholly-owned units abroad during March 2018.

According to the data, the investment by Indian firms stood at $1.71 billion in February 2019. Of the total investment overseas in March this year, $1.68 billion was in the form of loan, $564.97 million as equity while the rest $443.71 million was in the form of issuance of guarantee.

Data further stated that major investors included Tata Steel, which pumped $1.15 billion in a subsidiary in Singapore. This was followed by JSW Cement ($82 million in a wholly-owned subsidiary in the UAE) and ONGC Videsh ($70.37 million in various joint ventures in Myanmar, Russia and Vietnam).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11587.10, down by 9.60 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 11578.80 and 11627.20. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were GAIL India up by 2.58%, Cipla up by 1.77%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 1.73%, ITC up by 1.62% and Britannia up by 1.09%. On the flip side, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 1.51%, Indian Oil Corp. down by 1.46%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.28%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.22% and Tata Motors down by 1.17% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng decreased 85.68 points or 0.29% to 29,753.77, Shanghai Composite declined 9.03 points or 0.28% to 3,180.93, Straits Times trembled 7.95 points or 0.24% to 3,322.87 and Taiwan Weighted dropped 3.47 points or 0.03% to 10,805.30. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite soared 4.91 points or 0.08% to 6,415.08, KOSPI rose 9.01 points or 0.41% to 2,233.45 and Nikkei 225 surged 159.18 points or 0.73% to 21,870.56.