Sensex, Nifty continue to trade in positive terrain

Indian stock markets continued to trade in positive terrain in early noon session with Sensex and Nifty trading above 39,200 and 11,750 levels respectively. Buying in frontline stocks such as Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Power Grid Corporation were aiding sentiment, while selling in Yes Bank, Sun Pharma and Hero MotoCorp kept the gains in the markets in check. Investors took encouragement as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will infuse Rs 12,500 crore of liquidity into the system through purchase of government bonds (G-sec). The Central bank would purchase five government bonds under open market operations (OMOs) on June 20, 2019. Traders also got some support from a private report stating that the Centre is considering the establishment of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to monitor, screen, and rate commercial borrowers. One of the initiatives the new government will work on in its first 100 days, the SPV, similar to the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) will form a database compiling information from public sector banks (PSBs).

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green, as investors dared to hope that the Federal Reserve would follow the lead of the European Central Bank and open the door to future rate cuts at its policy meeting later in the day. Back on street, in scrip specific developments, shares of Can Fin Homes rallied after the parent Canara Bank, re-initiated stake sale process in the subsidiary housing finance company. Shares of VA Tech Wabag surged on securing contract worth Rs 1,477 crore in Uttar Pradesh.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39270.10, up by 223.76 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 39158.10 and 39435.80. There were 19 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.20%, while Small cap index was down by 0.38%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.88%, Metal up by 0.74%, Power up by 0.68%, Bankex up by 0.57% and FMCG was up by 0.50%, while Telecom down by 0.61%, Healthcare down by 0.47%, Oil & Gas down by 0.45%, PSU down by 0.11% and TECK was down by 0.08% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 3.08%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.24%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.75%, HDFC up by 1.20% and NTPC was up by 1.17%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 4.85%, Sun Pharma down by 1.28%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.11%, Coal India down by 0.90% and Bajaj Auto was down by 0.72% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the domestic air passenger traffic saw a rebound in May 2019 as it rose by 2.96 percent after a slump in April. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data, domestic airlines flew 12.20 million passengers in May 2019, as against 11.85 million passengers carried in the same month of last year. In April 2019, domestic air traffic dipped 4.5% year-on-year--the sharpest decline in at least five years. Suspension of operations by Jet Airways on April 17 due to lack of funds was considered to be one of the primary reasons why domestic air traffic saw a fall in that month.

In terms of market share, budget carrier IndiGo maintained its lead position with 49 percent share of the domestic passenger market in May. SpiceJet's market share increased from 13.1 percent in April to 14.8 percent in May, giving it the number two spot. The market share of Air India, GoAir, AirAsia and Vistara were 13.5 percent, 11.1 percent, 6.3 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively, in May this year.

As per to the data, the passenger load factor -- which is measured by dividing the number of passengers to the number of available seats in a flight -- for SpiceJet was 93.9 percent in May. For GoAir, IndiGo, Air Asia and Vistara, the passenger load factor stood at 93.3 percent, 90.9 percent, 87.8 percent and 85.6 percent, respectively, in May. Air India's passenger load factor was at 85 percent in May.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11751.25, up by 59.75 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 11740.20 and 11802.50. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 3.24%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.27%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.82%, Zee Entertainment up by 1.78% and Eicher Motors was up by 1.39%. On the flip side, Indiabulls Housing down by 5.15%, Yes Bank down by 4.80%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 1.81%, UPL down by 1.67% and BPCL was down by 1.13% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in green; KOSPI rose 23.41 points or 1.12% to 2,122.12, Jakarta Composite soared 53.68 points or 0.86% to 6,311.01, Straits Times advanced 45.55 points or 1.41% to 3,284.28, Hang Seng increased 648.52 points or 2.36% to 28,147.29, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 205.23 points or 1.94% to 10,771.97, Nikkei 225 surged 378.20 points or 1.8% to 21,350.91 and Shanghai Composite was up by 44.33 points or 1.53% to 2,934.49.