Benchmarks pare gains to trade flat in morning deals

Indian equity benchmark have pared all of their initial gains and turned flat in early deals on Friday, as investors remained on sidelines ahead of macroeconomic data such as Index of Industrial Production (IIP) to be announced today after the market hours. However, some support came with a report that India has sought greater access for agricultural and animal husbandry products in Chinese market to boost exports and bridge trade deficit with the neighbouring country. Sentiments remained up-beat by Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas stating that the corporate affairs ministry maintains a fairly reliable database that is not a black box. He emphasized that it is up to statistical authorities to decide on which data is representative for GDP calculation. Against the backdrop of concerns over data used for calculating GDP numbers, Srinivas said that the ministry's MCA 21 portal is a trust-based system as the information reported there are company disclosures.

On the global front Asian market are mostly trading in green as traders sentiment remained supported somewhat after US President Donald Trump said his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping wrote him a 'beautiful letter' and there is still a chance to salvage trade negotiations to resolve a year-long dispute. The US markets ended lower on Thursday amid renewed trade concerns following tough talk from Trump ahead of two days of US-China trade talks in Washington. Back home scrip specific developments, Tata Steel gained on inking agreements to induct TANMIA as shareholder in Al Rimal Mining LLC. However, HCL Technologies fell despite reporting 14% rise in Q4 consolidated net profit.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37593.07, up by 34.16 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 37585.68 and 37721.98. There were 16 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.17%, while Small cap index was up by 0.31%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.98%, Bankex up by 0.38%, Metal up by 0.30%, Energy up by 0.28% and Basic Materials was up by 0.21%, while Telecom down by 0.83%, Consumer Durables down by 0.70%, IT down by 0.44%, TECK down by 0.43% and Capital Goods was down by 0.41% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 1.53%, Reliance Industries up by 0.86%, ICICI Bank up by 0.85%, SBI up by 0.69% and HDFC was up by 0.63%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 3.82%, Asian Paints down by 1.39%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.77%, Sun Pharma Industries down by 0.57% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 0.49% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas has said the corporate affairs ministry maintained a fairly reliable database that is not a black box. He emphasized that it is up to statistical authorities to decide on which data is representative for GDP calculation.  Against the backdrop of concerns over data used for calculating GDP numbers, srinivas stated that the ministry's MCA 21 portal is a trust-based system as the information reported there are company disclosures. MCA 21 is an electronic repository of corporate filings. It is a highly transparent platform and one of the best in the world.

Filings under the Companies Act are submitted to the corporate affairs ministry through the MCA 21 system.  There were around 15 lakh active companies incorporated on the MCA 21 and the number has come down to 11.5 lakh in the last two years after the names of around 3.5 lakh companies were struck off due to non-filing of statutory returns for two years or more.

Besides, noting that the drive against companies that are not making required filings is a continuous process, Srinivas said the ministry initiated Know Your Client (KYC) process for companies about two months ago.  With the KYC process, the details about companies, including the company's registered address and geographical information (latitude and longitude details), directors, KMPs (Key Managerial Persons) are getting revalidated. Around 5 lakh companies have so far complied with the KYC process.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11304.75, up by 2.95 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 11301.70 and 11342.75. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Zee Entertainment up by 2.35%, Yes Bank up by 1.29%, Indiabulls Housing up by 1.01%, Britannia Industries up by 0.96% and ICICI Bank was up by 0.83%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 4.43%, Bharti Infratel down by 1.98%, BPCL down by 1.78%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 1.49% and Asian Paints was down by 1.27% were the top losers.

Asian markets are mostly trading in green; Straits Times increased 4.08 points or 0.12% to 3,273.78, Hang Seng gained 181.80 points or 0.64% to 28,492.87, Shanghai Composite surged 42.87 points or 1.50 % to 2,893.82 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 2.48 points or 0.02% to 10,736.15. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite fell 46.12 points or 0.74% to 6,152.68, Nikkei 225 tumbled 157.92 points or 0.74% to 21,244.21 and KOSPI was down by 1.33 points or 0.06% to 2,100.68.