Local equities continue firm trade

Local equity markets added gains to continue firm trade in the morning session on account of buying in front line counters. Among heavy-weights ONGC, HCL Tech and Asian Paints exhibited a smart performance. Traders took note of a report that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs plans to start gathering 'primary data' from persons who have put in their money in chit funds and deposit-taking schemes, amid continuing efforts to clamp down on illicit fundraising activities. Meanwhile, a private report stated that Reserve Bank of India on April 23 set a cut-off at its second dollar/rupee swap auction at a much higher than expected premium, in a sign that the system is flush with dollar liquidity that banks are struggling to find buyers for. Traders shrugged off Care Ratings’ report that a possible increase in fuel prices due to the US sanctions on Iranian crude exports can have adverse impacts on the current account deficit (CAD), the rupee and inflation.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, amid worries that China has put any further stimulus on hold as the economy shows signs of regaining its footing. Back home, the government is likely to raise the import duty on wheat from the current 30% to 40% to rule out any possibility of cheaper imports amid the harvesting of the new crop. The import duty increase will force flour millers to buy wheat from FCI, which is set to offload stocks rather than source the grain from other countries. Besides, rating agency ICRA said that it has estimated 7-7.5 GW solar power capacity addition during the current financial year, which includes 1 GW of rooftop solar. Based on tendering and awards of projects in the last 12-15 months.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38659.26, up by 94.38 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 38605.17 and 38701.52. There were 17 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.06%, while Small cap index was up by 0.21%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.21%, Energy up by 1.05%, Telecom up by 0.88%, TECK up by 0.83% and IT was up by 0.81%, while Auto down by 1.29%, Metal down by 0.81%, Basic Materials down by 0.68%, FMCG down by 0.29% and Industrials was down by 0.27% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 2.29%, HCL Tech up by 1.99%, Asian Paints up by 1.73%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.45% and IndusInd Bank was up by 1.32%. On the flip side, Tata Motors - DVR down by 5.92%, Tata Motors down by 5.64%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.81%, Vedanta down by 1.63% and Tata Steel was down by 1.49% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency ICRA in its latest note has estimated 7-7.5 GW solar power capacity addition during the current financial year (FY20), which includes 1 GW of rooftop solar. The agency said it is based on tendering and awards of projects in the last 12-15 months. The agency mentioned, By contrast, solar capacity addition is estimated to have remained subdued at around 6 GW to 6.5 GW in the financial year  FY19 on account of weak trend in award of solar projects in the calender year (CY) 2017.

ICRA said tendered project awards for solar PV (photovoltaic) projects during CY 2018 stood at about 11 GW against 4.5 GW in CY 2017, providing a healthy pipeline for capacity addition over the next 2-year period. It also said nearly 56% of the capacity auctioned in 2018 has been accounted for by central agencies, such as Solar Energy Corporation of India and NTPC, with the balance by state nodal entities and discoms under various state-level programmes.

Apart from the projects awarded through the bid route, ICRA expects about 1 GW to be added through open access or group captive route and grid-connected rooftop, with these additions being facilitated by favourable solar policies for open access route in a few states.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11605.20, up by 29.25 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 11589.30 and 11620.85. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 2.44%, HCL Tech. up by 2.16%, BPCL up by 2.08%, Indian Oil Corp. up by 1.74% and Bharti Airtel was up by 1.58%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 5.81%, Vedanta down by 1.72%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.64%, Tata Steel down by 1.41% and Hero MotoCorp was down by 1.37% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 226.14 points or 0.75% to 29,737.10, Nikkei 225 slipped 95.94 points or 0.43% to 22,163.80, Shanghai Composite declined 29.39 points or 0.92% to 3,169.20, KOSPI fell 28.01 points or 1.26% to 2,192.50, Jakarta Composite dropped 26.09 points or 0.4% to 6,436.73 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 14.96 points or 0.14% to 11,010.72. On the other hand, Straits Times was up by 6.88 points or 0.21% to 3,360.35.