Indian equities remain in green terrain

Indian equity benchmarks continued their trade in green territory in afternoon session, on buying by funds and retail investors amid positive global cues. The indices remained positive with taking support from latest data from industry body the Association of Mutual Funds of India (Amfi) showing that average Assets Under Management (AUM) of mutual funds rose to Rs 25.43 trillion in May from Rs 25.27 trillion in the previous month on the back of increased inflows into equity-linked schemes. Traders also took a note of MSME ministry’s additional secretary Ram Mohan Mishra stating that ministry is working on developing enterprise facilitation centres at block level across the country to make MSMEs more competitive and help them integrate with big enterprises. Strengthening rupee and positive global cues too kept the positive momentum in the market going. However, further gains got restricted as traders remained cautious ahead of Index of key economic data -- April IIP and May CPI, which are scheduled to be released tomorrow. On the sectoral front, select auto stocks were trading lower, with data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showing that domestic passenger vehicle sales declined 20.55 percent to 2,39,347 units in May from 3,01,238 units in May 2018.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green, as investors heaved a sigh of relief after the United States shelved plans to impose tariffs on Mexico, and on hopes that U.S. interest rates will be cut as early as next week. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39897.02, up by 112.50 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 39760.02 and 39947.01. There were 22 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.30%, while Small cap index was up by 0.04%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.71%, IT up by 0.70%, TECK up by 0.70%, Telecom up by 0.64% and Basic Materials was up by 0.47%, while Realty down by 0.65% and Capital Goods was down by 0.18% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 2.49%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 2.28%, Yes Bank up by 2.17%, Vedanta up by 2.06% and HCL Technoloiges was up by 1.97%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 3.70%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.01%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.45%, Coal India down by 0.40% and Power Grid was down by 0.21% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is planning to establish a ‘National Data Warehouse on Official Statistics’ where technology will be leveraged for using Big Data Analytical tools for further improving the quality of macro-economic aggregates. It said efforts are also on to evolve a legislative framework under which the National Statistical Commission (NSC) may function with independence and give holistic guidance for improving the national statistical system.

MoSPI has stated that as far as the statistical reforms are concerned, it is important to note that system reforms are an ongoing process and are necessary for ensuring responsiveness to the changing needs of society. It also said that over a period of time, there have been increasing demands on the statistical system for the production of relevant and quality statistics. The Ministry has been accommodating these demands by optimising the available resources and use of technology.

According to ministry, revision in GDP estimates occur when data coverage from administrative sources improves over time and these improvements get well documented. Consequently, the initial estimates of GDP tend to be conservative. To improve this, the Ministry said it would require concomitant changes in the sectoral data flows and associated regulatory framework in the data source agencies to facilitate the use of more macro modelling techniques.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11952.25, up by 29.55 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 11904.35 and 11966.25. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 2.52%, Zee Entertainment up by 2.49%, Yes Bank up by 2.24%, Vedanta up by 2.18% and HCL Technologies was up by 2.05%. On the flip side, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 6.83%, Sun Pharma down by 3.74%, BPCL down by 1.44%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.17% and Dr. Reddys Lab was down by 0.84% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in green; Jakarta Composite soared 17.02 points or 0.27% to 6,306.63, KOSPI rose 12.32 points or 0.59% to 2,111.81, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 41.29 points or 0.39% to 10,607.76, Straits Times advanced 21.03 points or 0.66% to 3,209.14, Shanghai Composite gained 71.64 points or 2.51% to 2,923.77, Hang Seng increased 245.86 points or 0.89% to 27,824.50 and Nikkei 225 was up by 69.86 points or 0.33% to 21,204.28.