Barometer gauges maintain gains in early noon session

Indian stock markets continued to trade in positive terrain in the early noon session due to buying in FMCG, Capital Goods and Bankex stocks. Buying in frontline stocks such as Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank and Yes Bank were aiding sentiments, while selling in HCL Technologies, Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto kept the gains in the markets in check. Besides, broader indices were also trading in green, supporting their larger peers. Bourses extended their upward rally on report that Environment and forest minister Prakash Javadekar termed the present economic slowdown as a cyclical process. He said the government remains optimistic about near-doubling the economy size to $5 trillion by 2024. Buying further crept in with a report that the government has taken upon itself the task of giving the much-needed boost to the economy, by fast-tracking public spending, particularly CAPEX. Meanwhile, the country's foreign exchange reserves fell by $446 million to $428.604 billion in the week to August 30, mainly on account of a drop in foreign currency assets.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, as investors pinned expectations on likely stimulus to support growth in the world's major economies. Back on street, shares of Eveready Industries were trading lower on reports that Duracell Inc, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, is set to acquire the company's battery and flashlight business in a slump sale for Rs 1,600-1,700 crore. Besides, Motherson Sumi Systems gained on establishing manufacturing unit at RAKEZ.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37173.14, up by 191.37 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 36784.47 and 37205.44. There were 20 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.59%, while Small cap index was up by 0.51%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 1.13%, Capital Goods up by 1.06%, Bankex up by 0.90%, Basic Materials up by 0.73% and Healthcare was up by 0.62%, while IT down by 0.41%, TECK down by 0.32%, Auto down by 0.26% and Metal was down by 0.09% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 1.87%, ICICI Bank up by 1.83%, Yes Bank up by 1.66%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.27% and HDFC was up by 1.26%. On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 1.27%, Tata Motors down by 0.99%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.97%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.96% and Tata Motors - DVR was down by 0.91% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has sought government intervention to help the sector in smooth transition to Bharat Stage Six (BS VI) vehicular emission norms from April 2020. It also said that the prospect of abrupt stoppage of manufacturing and sales of BS-IV vehicles overnight posed a monumental challenge.

SIAM President Rajan Wadhera has stated that vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers were on track to meet stricter emission norms. But, he expressed concern over availability of BS-VI fuel across the country. He noted the transition is very abrupt on March 31, both manufacturing and sales (of BS-IV vehicles) stop and this has never ever happened in anywhere in the world. He pointed out that it is extremely difficult to predict sales and plan inventories in such a way to have zero inventory on end of March. He added that this itself is giving speculation and confusion in customers and in huge loss for the entire auto fraternity.

Calling the transition as a very impressive phase of the entire auto industry, Wadhera said “all eyes are on us. Together we have to ensure that we execute this transition very well.' He also said lots of investment and hard work have already been put in by both original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers. Ahead of the festive season, he also drew the attention of the government to take a swift decision on Goods and Services Tax (GST) reduction on automobiles.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11001.60, up by 55.40 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 10889.80 and 11012.15. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were UPL up by 2.90%, Yes Bank up by 2.24%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.86%, ICICI Bank up by 1.71% and Larsen & Toubro was up by 1.70%. On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 1.34%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.00%, Tata Motors down by 0.95%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.82% and Eicher Motors was down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Nikkei 225 surged 102.83 points or 0.49% to 21,302.40, KOSPI rose 10.56 points or 0.53% to 2,019.69, Shanghai Composite gained 20.63 points or 0.69% to 3,020.23, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 11.10 points or 0.1% to 10,791.74, Jakarta Composite soared 13.31 points or 0.21% to 6,322.26 and Straits Times was up by 3.81 points or 0.12% to 3,148.29. On the flip side, Hang Seng was down by 8.36 points or 0.03% to 26,682.40.