Benchmarks trade with marginal gains in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made a positive start and are trading with marginal gains in early deals on Monday tracking firm cues from global markets. Some support came in with report that foreign investors have pumped in a net sum of Rs 11,096 crore into the Indian capital markets in April so far, driven by global and domestic factors. Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) were net buyers for the previous two months as well, infusing a net sum of Rs 11,182 crore in February and Rs 45,981 crore in March. However, upside remained capped with weak macro-economic data. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation data has showed that industrial growth fell to its lowest in 20 months in February, barely rising from a year ago as manufacturing contracted following muted consumer demand, and public investment slowed toward the fiscal year-end. The index of industrial production (IIP) rose 0.1%, the slowest since a 0.3% contraction in July 2017. Besides, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) data showed that India's retail inflation saw a marginal rise of 2.86% in March on account of increase in prices of food articles and fuel. The inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 2.57% in February this year. On yearly basis, it was 4.28% in March 2018.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher, as investors cheered Chinese data on Friday showing exports rebounded in March to a five-month high, while new bank loans jumped by far more than expected. Back home, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) gained traction on reporting a rise of 17.72% in its net profit at Rs 8,152 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 as compared to Rs 6,925 crore for the corresponding quarter in the FY18 (On consolidated basis). However, Infosys fell on reporting a mix bag of fourth quarter numbers, with margins coming in below expectations even as revenue came in-line. On a consolidated basis, the company reported 12.88% rise in net profit to Rs 4074 crore on 0.23% rise in total income to Rs 22204 crore in Q4 March 2019 over Q3 December 2018.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38819.65, up by 52.54 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 38780.08 and 38878.90. There were 18 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.19%, while Small cap index was up by 0.49%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.34%, Realty up by 0.83%, Auto up by 0.62%, Industrials up by 0.53% and Basic Materials was up by 0.47%, while Telecom down by 0.52%, TECK down by 0.23%, IT down by 0.14%, Oil & Gas down by 0.11% and Healthcare was down by 0.11% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 4.82%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 4.64%, Coal India up by 3.02%, TCS up by 2.03% and HCL Technologies was up by 1.37%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.66%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.89%, Sun Pharma Industries down by 0.74%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.39% and Maruti Suzuki was down by 0.30% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s factory output, as measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), slowed down to 20-month low of 0.1% in February, mainly due to contraction in the manufacturing sector. It had grown by 6.9% in February 2018. The previous low in IIP growth was recorded in June 2017, when factory output contracted 0.3%. As per the data released by the Central Statistics Office of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, IIP with base 2011-12 for the month of February 2019 stood at 127.5, which was  0.1% higher as compared to the level in the month of February 2018. The cumulative growth for the period April-February 2018-19 over the corresponding period of the previous year stood at 4.0%. Meanwhile, IIP growth for November 2018 was revised downwards to 0.2% from 0.3% released earlier.

On the sectoral front, the manufacturing sector, which constitutes 77.63% of the IIP, contracted by 0.3% in February as compared to 8.4% expansion a year ago. Power sector growth slowed to 1.2% in February as compared to 4.5% a year ago. However, mining sector output grew 2% in the month compared to contraction of 0.4% earlier. The Indices of Industrial Production for the Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity sectors for the month of February 2019 stood at 112.3, 129.3 and 137.7 respectively. The cumulative growth in these three sectors during April-February 2018-19 over the corresponding period of 2017-18 has been 3.0%, 3.8% and 5.5%, respectively.

Besides, capital goods output declined by 8.8% in the month under review as against 16.6% growth in February 2018. As per use-based classification, the growth rates in February 2019 over February 2018 were 1.2% in primary goods, (-) 4.9% in intermediate goods and 2.4% in infrastructure/construction goods. Consumer durables and consumer non-durables recorded growth of 1.2% and 4.3%, respectively.

In terms of industries, 10 out of the 23 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown positive growth during the month of February 2019 as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year. The industry group ‘Manufacture of wearing apparel’ has shown the highest positive growth of 19.3% followed by 13.8% in ‘Manufacture of food products’ and 8.3% in ‘Manufacture of wood and products of wood and cork, except furniture; manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials’. On the other hand, the industry group ‘Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.’ has shown the highest negative growth of (-) 12.8% followed by (-) 10.7% in ‘Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment’ and (-) 9.7% in ‘Manufacture of furniture’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11654.25, up by 10.80 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 11648.25 and 11677.40. There were 30 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 4.42%, Coal India up by 2.51%, TCS up by 1.98%, Vedanta up by 1.55% and Hindalco was up by 1.53%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.79%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.29%, Sun Pharma Industries down by 1.04%, BPCL down by 0.93% and GAIL India was down by 0.57% were the top losers.

Asian Markets are mostly trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 308.79 points or 1.41% to 22,179.35, Hang Seng increased 174.97 points or 0.58% to 30,084.73, KOSPI rose 11.41 points or 0.51% to 2,244.86, Shanghai Composite gained 35.82 points or 1.12% to 3,224.45, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 69.77 points or 0.65% to 10,875.07 and Jakarta Composite was up by 21.67 points or 0.34% to 6,427.54. On the flip side, Straits Times was down by 2.55 points or 0.08% to 3,329.43.