Benchmarks trade in green in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made gap-up opening and are trading with traction in early deals amid positive global cues. The broader indices were also trading in green.  Traders took encouragement with report that union minister of state for heavy industries and public enterprises, Arjun Ram Meghwal’s statement that the government will do everything to ensure that the economy remains on track and is not weakened so that the country reaches its target of $5 trillion economy. Meanwhile, finance ministry will hold meeting with heads of central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) today to impress upon them the need to expedite capital expenditure. The government has a capital expenditure plan of Rs 3.3 lakh crore during the current financial year. These include expenditure by the Ministry of Railways and Road Transport.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading in green in early deals on Friday as investors cheered plans for more trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing. The US markets ended higher on Thursday on expectations of de-escalation in US-China trade tensions, while strong US economic data eased fears of a domestic slowdown.

Back home, the MSME sector remained in focus with the report that  government launched the updated Credit linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS) to allow micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) access to capital. The scheme provides an upfront subsidy of 15 per cent on institutional credit up to Rs 1 crore for MSMEs in the specified 51 sub-sectors. In scrip specific development, Tech Mahindra shined on expanding strategic collaboration with AT&T.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36816.38, up by 171.96 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 36757.59 and 36867.49. There were 25 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.10%, while Small cap index was up by 0.31%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were TECK up by 1.03%, IT up by 1.00%, Telecom up by 0.84%, Power up by 0.70% and Utilities was up by 0.56%, while Realty down by 0.68%, Metal down by 0.52%, Healthcare down by 0.45%, Oil & Gas down by 0.33% and Consumer Durables was down by 0.13% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 4.80%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.80%, Tata Motors up by 1.36%, Infosys up by 1.35% and Power Grid up by 1.23%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.84%, Yes Bank down by 1.45%, Tata Steel down by 0.19%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.17% and HDFC Bank down by 0.13% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, foreign direct investment (FDI) into India grew by 28 percent to $16.33 billion during the April-June quarter of 2019-20 (Q1 FY20). As per latest figures released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the foreign fund inflows in April-June 2018-19 stood at $12.75 billion.

Data further indicated that key sectors that received maximum foreign investment during Q1FY20 include services ($2.8 billion), computer software and hardware ($2.24 billion), telecommunications ($4.22 billion), and trading ($1.13 billion). It also highlighted that Singapore was the largest source of FDI during April-June 2019-20 with $5.33 billion investments, followed by Mauritius ($4.67 billion), the US ($1.45 billion), the Netherlands ($1.35 billion), and Japan ($472 million).

FDI is important as India will require huge investments in the coming years to overhaul its infrastructure sector to boost growth. Recently, the government relaxed foreign investment norms in sectors like brand retail trading, coal mining and contract manufacturing, in order to boost the ailing economy.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10885.95, up by 38.05 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 10877.70 and 10905.20. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 4.61%, NTPC up by 1.50%, Zee Entertainment up by 1.27%, Infosys up by 1.23% and Axis Bank up by 1.21%. On the flip side, Indiabulls Housing down by 5.46%, Sun Pharma down by 2.91%, Yes Bank down by 1.53%, JSW Steel down by 1.29% and BPCL down by 0.92% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in green; Nikkei 225 gained 133.01 points or 0.63% to 21,218.95, Straits Times strengthened 14.58 points or 0.46% to 3,161.64. Hang Seng gained 157.07 points or 0.59% to 26,672.60, Taiwan Weighted increased by 17.53 points or 0.16% to 10,774.46, Kospi advanced 4.81 points or 0.24% to 2,009.56, Shanghai Composite soared 4.77 points or 0.16% to 2,990.63 and Jakarta Composite was up by 15.01 points or 0.24% to 6,321.81.