Markets continue to trade in high spirit

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in high spirit in early noon session, on account of broad based buying in blue chip counters. Most of the sectoral indices were trading firm and Telecom was the top gainer on BSE, up by around 1.97% followed by Basic Materials and Metal indices, trading up over 1.85% each. Apart from blue chips, broader indices too equally participated in the rally with both mid and small cap indices trading up by 0.39% and 0.21%. Investors cheered on report that the stimulus package by the government would not only aim to reduce the cost for the industry but would also lay out procedures that would further provide impetus to ease of doing business. Further, government’s data which showed that snapping the 6-month rising streak, the retail inflation fell in the month of July despite rise in the food prices. The CPI-based inflation was reduced to 3.15 per cent in the last month also continued to support sentiments. Meanwhile, a private report highlighted that the finance ministry may soon consult the law ministry on how best to provide relief to foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from the super-rich surcharge that was announced in the July 5 budget.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green, as Washington delayed tariffs on some Chinese imports. US President Donald Trump backed off his September 1 deadline for 10 per cent tariffs on the remaining Chinese imports, delaying duties on cellphones, laptops and other consumer goods in the hopes of blunting their impact on US holiday sales. Back on street, Moody's Investors Service stated that the Reliance Industries’ announcement of sale of a 20 per cent stake in its oil to chemicals (O2C) business to Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) will reduce the company's net leverage and is credit positive. Besides, shares of HDFC Life Insurance Company slumped after reports that the co-promoter Standard Life sold more than 3 per cent stake in the company via block deal.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37394.96, up by 436.80 points or 1.18% after trading in a range of 37000.77 and 37409.31. There were 26 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.39%, while Small cap index was up by 0.21%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.97%, Basic Materials up by 1.91%, Metal up by 1.89%, Bankex up by 1.26% and Oil & Gas was up by 1.25%, while Healthcare down by 1.12% and Power was down by 0.32% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 4.25%, Vedanta up by 4.15%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.72%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.70% and Bajaj Finance was up by 2.60%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 5.33%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.06%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.65%, ONGC down by 0.27% and Asian Paints was down by 0.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that housing finance companies (HFCs) will henceforth be treated as one of the categories of Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) for regulatory purposes and it will come under its direct oversight. This comes after the Finance Act, 2019 amended the National Housing Bank Act, 1987, conferring certain powers for regulation of HFCs with the RBI.

The central bank will carry out a review of the extant regulatory framework applicable to the HFCs and come out with revised regulations in due course. In the meantime, HFCs shall continue to comply with the directions and instructions issued by the National Housing Bank (NHB) till the RBI issues a revised framework.

Moreover, NHB will continue to carry out supervision of HFCs and HFCs will continue to submit various returns to NHB as hitherto. The grievance redressal mechanism with regard to HFCs will also continue to be with the NHB.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11052.55, up by 126.70 points or 1.16% after trading in a range of 10935.60 and 11059.05. There were 42 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Zee Entertainment up by 5.42%, Tata Steel up by 4.85%, Vedanta up by 4.44%, UPL up by 4.25% and Yes Bank was up by 3.80%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 5.48%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 3.24%, Coal India down by 2.16%, Wipro down by 1.68% and Power Grid Corporation was down by 1.11% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher, Nikkei 225 surged 183.16 points or 0.9% to 20,638.60, KOSPI rose 13.13 points or 0.68% to 1,938.96, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 65.07 points or 0.63% to 10,427.73, Jakarta Composite soared 34.18 points or 0.55% to 6,245.14, Hang Seng increased 153.99 points or 0.61% to 25,435.29, Shanghai Composite gained 17.64 points or 0.63% to 2,814.90 and Straits Times was up by 3.16 points or 0.1% to 3,149.89.