Markets turn volatile

Erasing all of their gains, key equity benchmarks turned volatile in late afternoon session, tracking weak European markets. The broader markets also got influenced by volatility and were exhibiting mixed trend in late noon deals. Trading sentiments worsened amid a private report stating that Indians are becoming increasingly worried about the economy's condition, with fewer citizens believing that the local economy is getting better. Adding more worries, World Bank forecasted slowdown in East Asia and Pacific economies in 2019. Growth of East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) will remain at 6.0 per cent in 2019, which is down from 6.3 per cent in 2018. Different factors marred slow growth in major economies which suffered due to economic policies.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, after Austria's production growth slowed in February. The data from Statistics Austria showed that the production index that combines both industry and construction climbed 5.9 percent year-on-year in February, after a 6.7 percent increase in January. Industrial production grew 5.1 percent annually and construction output rose by 9.3 percent in February. Asian markets were also trading in red. Investors looked ahead to the release of US first-quarter gross domestic product data on Friday for directional cues.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39033.78, down by 20.90 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 38968.22 and 39262.22. There were 12 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.34%, while Small cap index was up by 0.17%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Basic Materials up by 0.77%, Energy up by 0.68%, Realty up by 0.51%, Oil & Gas up by 0.45% and Consumer Durables up by 0.40%, while Telecom down by 2.28%, Metal down by 1.23%, Auto down by 0.78%, TECK down by 0.60% and IT down by 0.36% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 0.85%, Reliance Industries up by 0.79%, ITC up by 0.49%, NTPC up by 0.49% and Yes Bank up by 0.46%. On the flip side, Vedanta down by 2.17%, Tata Steel down by 1.99%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.67%, Sun Pharma down by 1.03% and Tata Motors down by 0.98% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Expressing need for skilling the people in the sector, Textile Secretary Raghavendra Singh has said that there is great potential for the technical textiles sector but the industry is yet to tap it.

Textile Secretary also highlighted the efforts being taken for the sector, saying that the Ministry of Textiles has prepared two reports on technical textiles to tap the potential and also how to utilise it.

Technical textiles has been identified as the thrust area for an exponential growth by the Centre and also by all the state governments considering its potential for value addition, exports, domestic demand. The 15% credit linked capital investment subsidy is provided by the central government for technical textiles machines under Amended Technology Upgradation Fund scheme apart from providing various other benefits.

Besides, State governments of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka have also offered special incentives for investments made in technical textiles. The Tamil Nadu government in its recent Integrated Textile Policy has announced 6% interest subsidy for technical textiles products.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11725.70, down by 0.45 points after trading in a range of 11711.30 and 11796.75. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Grasim Industries up by 5.62%, Ultratech Cement up by 4.99%, BPCL up by 2.01%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 1.93% and UPL up by 1.77%. On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 10.53%, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 2.31%, Tata Steel down by 2.02%, Vedanta down by 2.00% and Maruti Suzuki down by 1.41% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 157.35 points or 0.53% to 29,648.48. Jakarta Composite dropped 70.36 points or 1.09% to 6,377.53, Shanghai Composite declined 62.88 points or 1.96% to 3,138.73, KOSPI fell 10.53 points or 0.48% to 2,190.50 and Straits Times was down by 4.22 points or 0.13% to 3,358.21. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 12.22 points or 0.11% to 11,039.86 and Nikkei 225 was up by 107.58 points or 0.48% to 22,307.58.

European markets were trading mostly in red; Germany’s DAX gained 3.85 points or 0.03% to 12,317.01, while UK’s FTSE 100 slipped 22.78 points or 0.30% to 7,448.97 and France’s CAC was down by 5.41 points or 0.10% to 5,570.65.