Local equities maintain gains in early noon session

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green in early noon deals with frontline gauges trading with a gain of around half a percent amid the report that Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) forecasted that India’s merchandise exports to increase from $81.4 billion to $82 billion, with an expected growth rate of 0.6 per cent from a year ago during the second quarter of 2019-20 (July-September). Broader indices, BSE Mid cap and Small cap are also showing green trend. Traders took encouragement with the report that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that the government is not underestimating the slow Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and has full focus on how it can rise in the next quarter. She said the up and down are part of the growth process and the government is responding to the current economic challenges to revive demand and consumption in the country. Traders paid no heed towards Fitch Ratings forecasted India's economic growth at 6.6 percent during the current year, down from 6.8 percent in the previous year, and said the government has only limited room to ease fiscal policy because of high debt.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, as hopes of diminishing US-China tensions and reduced risk of no-deal Brexit prompted investors to take profit in risk-off trade ahead of key central bank policy meetings. The US markets ended mostly in green on Tuesday with a rally in energy and industrial shares countering a drop in the technology and real estate sectors. Back home, agriculture stocks remained in focus as Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority’s (APEDA) report showing that the country's agriculture exports dipped 14.39 per cent to $5.45 billion (about Rs 38,700 crore) in April-July this fiscal.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37297.50, up by 152.05 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 37193.57 and 37318.70. 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 0.72%, while Small cap index was up by 1.21%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 3.18%, Auto up by 1.97%, Metal up by 1.90%, Basic Materials up by 1.38% and Industrials was up by 1.21%, while IT down by 1.15%, TECK down by 0.98% and FMCG was down by 0.09% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 8.40%, Tata Motors up by 7.34%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 6.28%, Indusind Bank up by 2.55% and Vedanta up by 2.48%. On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 2.20%, Infosys down by 1.35%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.07%, TCS down by 0.77% and ITC down by 0.59% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said energy demand in India is likely to grow by 4.2 percent per annum by 2035. He noted that this makes the country’s energy demand growing faster than that of all major economies in the world. He also said the share of world's third-largest energy consumer in total global primary energy demand is set to double to 11 percent by 2040.

Pradhan said the per capita energy consumption of the country with 1.3 billion people is lower than the global average. He said the projected energy demand expansion calls for making matching investments in the energy sector. He also said at $85 billion, India recorded the highest growth of foreign energy investments anywhere in the world. He also said the government earlier this year declared that ‘energy justice’ is a top priority for India and also a key objective for himself. He said this encompasses a renewed commitment of India to advance inclusive access to secure, affordable and sustainable energy services.

The minister has stated that India was significantly expanding its energy infrastructure -- be it power generation, more renewables and gas-based infrastructure -- pipelines, city gas network and LNG terminals. He said “we launched a major campaign to improve access to clean cooking fuel under the Ujjwala Yojana scheme three years back, and the target of 8 crore connections was achieved just a couple of days back. He said the scheme has ensured that LPG coverage reaches more than 90 percent from 55 percent five years ago. He added that India achieved the universal electrification of all villages and this year, the country aims to achieve 100 percent electrification of households.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11036.60, up by 33.55 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 11011.65 and 11048.20. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 11.41%, Tata Motors up by 7.34%, JSW Steel up by 3.42%, Tata Steel up by 2.67% and Vedanta up by 2.44%. On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 2.29%, Zee Entertainment down by 2.11%, Wipro down by 2.05%, Infosys down by 1.45% and Tech Mahindra down by 1.25% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 390.42 points or 1.46% to 27,074.10, Nikkei 225 surged 182.30 points or 0.85% to 21,574.40, Straits Times advanced 33.23 points or 1.05% to 3,188.94, KOSPI rose 10.11 points or 0.5% to 2,042.19, Shanghai Composite declined 0.10 points or 0% to 3,021.10. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite lost 1.81 points or 0.03% to 6,334.86 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 3.09 points or 0.03% to 10,750.49.