Barometer gauges maintain gains in early noon deals

Stock markets were trading in fine fettle in the early noon session due to buying in Bankex, FMCG and Basic Materials sectors. Healthy buying was observed in blue-chip stocks like Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies.  Sentiments got boost with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that total bad loans of commercial banks declined by Rs 1.02 lakh crore to Rs 9.34 lakh crore in the 2018-19 fiscal on the back of steps taken by the government. The government has instituted a comprehensive 4R’s strategy for recognition of non-performing assets (NPAs) transparently, resolution and recovery of value from stressed assets, recapitalising of public sector banks (PSBs) and reforms in PSBs so as to reduce their bad loans. Some support also came in after IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad exhorted Common Services Centres - the government’s rural outreach programme for delivery of digital services - to aim for transaction business worth Rs 3 lakh crore in the next five years.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red on account of resurfaced trade tensions between the US and China and on worries after the better than expected US retail data dimmed hopes for aggressive interest rate trim this month. Back on street, in scrip specific developments, shares of Larsen & Toubro gained as its Construction led JV securing contract for 100 MLD Desalination Plant. Besides, HDFC AMC edged up on reporting 42% rise in Q1 net profit.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39242.20, up by 111.16 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 39081.14 and 39273.54. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.12%, while Small cap index was up by 0.26%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.54%, FMCG up by 0.52%, Basic Materials up by 0.47%, TECK up by 0.47% and Telecom was up by 0.41%, while Utilities down by 0.61%, Oil & Gas down by 0.49%, Energy down by 0.40%, Power down by 0.30% and Auto was down by 0.29% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.36%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.72%, HCL Tech up by 1.52%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.10% and SBI was up by 0.95%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 2.84%, NTPC down by 0.80%, ONGC down by 0.79%, Power Grid Corporation down by 0.69% and Maruti Suzuki was down by 0.61% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has said that India's foreign direct investment (FDI) norms in the multi-brand retail sector are a very well thought out policy which is unlikely to change any time soon. He also said that 49 percent FDI threshold in multi-brand retail must be respected in letter and spirit by all foreign brands.

The minister said ‘It is a very well thought out policy, recognising that the strength of Indian small retailers to serve the people of India across the length and breadth of the country is very deeply rooted in the culture of the villages of India. So, for the present, we would not like to change that.’ He also said ‘I think companies which want to come into India will have to look at restricting the foreign ownership to 49 percent if they are looking at multi-brand retail. And we would like them to ensure that in letter and in spirit.’

However, Goyal highlighted the government has planned significant concessions and liberalisation for the single-brand retail sector so that more international companies can set up stores in India and expand their business.  He noted that they can also meet their requirements of 30 percent domestic sourcing through their export requirements and integrate their global chains so that it is a win-win both for India and the single brand retailer coming into the country.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11691.55, up by 28.95 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 11651.15 and 11703.80. There were 24 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were UPL up by 2.88%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.40%, Zee Entertainment up by 2.15%, HCL Tech up by 1.69% and Tech Mahindra was up by 1.60%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 2.74%, GAIL India down by 2.31%, Coal India down by 1.07%, JSW Steel down by 0.93% and ONGC was down by 0.79% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 83.95 points or 0.29% to 28,535.67, Taiwan Weighted dropped 71.22 points or 0.65% to 10,814.83, KOSPI fell 19.59 points or 0.94% to 2,072.28 and Nikkei 225 was down by 48.13 points or 0.22% to 21,487.12.

On the other hand, Jakarta Composite lost 19.68 points or 0.31% to 6,382.20, Straits Times advanced 2.14 points or 0.06% to 3,362.17 and Shanghai Composite was up by 0.38 points or 0.01% to 2,938.00.