Key gauges continue to trade slightly in green

Indian equity markets continued to trade slightly in green in the afternoon session, as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said that the current size of the Indian economy is around $2.7 trillion and the government's goal is to make it to $5 trillion by 2024 and subsequently to $10 trillion by 2030. He noted that defence is one of the sectors that will help contribute towards it. He also said the country’s defence industry in the past had not performed to its full potential due to several reasons. He noted that this has led to the country's dependence on imported arms. The street remained positive with the report that the finance ministry is working on one more booster dose to give a leg-up to the economy that has hit over six-year low of 5 per cent. As per the report, the blue print for the stimulus is ready that would be announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the next few days. However gains remained capped with report that India's goods and services tax (GST) panel is unlikely to approve lowering the tax for the auto and allied components sector this week, as a study has warned of major revenue losses.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, amid the US President Donald Trump’s statement that a trade agreement between the US and China was likely to happen either before or immediately after the American elections. Back home, on the sectoral front, buying seen in the Realty, metal and Utilities, while FMCG and Auto indices are trading lower. Auto sector remained in focus as ICRA revised its sector outlook on auto components to negative, following a sharp and broad-based contraction in OEM sales in the past several quarters.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36529.28, up by 48.19 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 36465.92 and 36712.99. There were 17 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.45%, while Small cap index was up by 0.30%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.37%, Realty up by 1.31%, Basic Materials up by 0.59%, PSU up by 0.48% and Utilities was up by 0.41%, while FMCG down by 0.47%, Telecom down by 0.43% and Auto was down by 0.20% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 2.83%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.39%, Vedanta up by 1.68%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.32% and Asian Paints up by 1.27%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 2.70%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.15%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.04%, ITC down by 0.91% and Sun Pharma down by 0.73% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Niti Aayog chief executive Amitabh Kant has said that there is need to take structural reforms in agriculture and exports to bring growth rate back to higher levels of 9-10 percent for a long period. He also said the fundamentals of the economy are intact which will help the government take back the economy to the higher growth trajectory soon despite the global slowdown.

Acknowledging that the structural reforms such as Goods and Services Tax (GST), and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) etc had some impact in growth, Kant said in the long-run these reforms will take the country to higher growth path. He also “the government is alive, receptive and despite the global headwinds, we are very conscious that we have to take the country back to very high trajectory growth rate as our fundamentals are totally intact and we have a very vibrant private sector and have a government which is committed to reforms.”

Talking on divestment, Niti Aayog chief executive said soon the government will do a lot of asset monetization. He also said “we will put on block roads, airports, power transmission lines, and shipping terminals for privatisation and that is when credit flow will start.” He noted that it is not possible to grow for a long time without structural reforms in the agriculture sector where close to 58 percent of the country's lives. He added “you cannot keep growing on subsidies or just by giving assistance to farmers without ensuring better markets, technology or contract farming.”

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10824.90, up by 7.30 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 10804.85 and 10885.15. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 2.73%, JSW Steel up by 2.41%, GAIL India up by 2.20%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.19% and Vedanta up by 1.75%. On the flip side, Britannia Inds down by 2.84%, ONGC down by 2.70%, Coal India down by 2.05%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.40% and Eicher Motors down by 1.38% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted strengthened 54.95 points or 0.51% to 10,929.45, Jakarta Composite soared 27.39 points or 0.44% to 6,264.08, Shanghai Composite gained 10.13 points or 0.34% to 2,988.25 and KOSPI rose 8.40 points or 0.41% to 2,070.73. On the flip side, Hang Seng decreased 9.63 points or 0.04% to 26,780.61, Straits Times trembled 12.04 points or 0.38% to 3,170.96 and Nikkei 225 was down by 40.61 points or 0.18% to 21,960.71.