Indian equities continue bullish trend

Indian equity bourses added gains and continued their firm trade in late afternoon session, with Sensex and Nifty gaining 436.10 and 131.70 points, respectively. Stocks from Telecom, Bankex, Realty and Metal counters were supporting the markets. Traders were getting encouragement with report that the Indian economy needs a boost and a slip in the fiscal deficit by 40 to 50 basis points will be a good trade-off if it propels demand. BSE Mid cap and Small cap are also trading in green. The up-move also got support with World Bank’s report that in an era of slowing trade and growth, developing countries can achieve better outcomes for its people through reforms to boost their participation in global value chains. On the sectoral front, telecom stocks remained in the focus with industry body COAI’s statement that mobile tower installations have reached only 60% of intended target of 1,00,000 towers annually, mainly due to delay in permission from local authorities and other structural issues. In scrip specific development, JBM Auto shines on bagging orders for supply of 300 Buses and Ugro Capital gains on partnering with Bank of Baroda to provide co-originate loans to SMEs.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, as bargain hunters stepped in after steep losses the previous day. Traders shifted focus to corporate earnings, underlying sentiment remained cautious amid heightened tensions between the United States and China ahead of crucial talks. However, Asian markets were trading mostly in red.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37968.08, up by 436.10 points or 1.16% after trading in a range of 37415.83 and 38006.09. There were 23 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.88%, while Small cap index was up by 0.55%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 3.79%, Bankex up by 2.81%, Realty up by 1.90%, Metal up by 1.54% and Basic Materials was up by 1.46%, while IT down by 0.86%, Consumer Durables down by 0.40%, TECK down by 0.27% and FMCG was down by 0.18% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 5.09%, Bharti Airtel up by 4.48%, SBI up by 3.90%, ICICI Bank up by 3.89% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.38%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 3.95%, HCL Tech down by 2.21%, ITC down by 1.85%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.77% and TCS down by 1.13% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government has started an investigation to see whether the expiry of existing anti-dumping duty on certain hot-rolled steel products from China, Malaysia and South Korea would lead to continuation of dumping of the product, following complaints by the domestic players. According to a notification of the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), an arm of the commerce ministry, Jindal Stainless (Hisar) and Jindal Stainless have jointly filed a review petition for continued imposition of the existing anti-dumping duty on the imports of 'Hot Rolled Flat Products of Stainless Steel-304 grade' from China, Malaysia and Korea. India had imposed the duty in June 2015 for five years.

In a notification, the directorate has said that based on the facts and data, there is a need to review for the continued imposition of the duties in force in respect of the subject goods, originating in or exported from China, Malaysia and Korea. It said ‘having satisfied itself, on the basis of the prima facie evidence submitted by the domestic industry, substantiating the likelihood of continuation/recurrence of dumping and injury...the authority hereby initiates a sunset review investigation to review the need for continued imposition of the duties in force in respect of the subject goods.’ DGTR would examine whether the expiry of such duty is likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping and injury to the domestic industry.

The period of investigation for the present investigation is April 2018-March 2019 (12 months) and the injury investigation period is from 2015-18. India slapped an anti-dumping duty of up to $309 per tonne on imports from China, while $316 per tonne duty has been fixed for Malaysia and $180 per tonne for Korea. These steel products are used for manufacture of process equipment, reactor vessels, material handling equipment, railways, pipes and tubes, automotive components, architecture, building and construction, industrial fabrication and power sector.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11258.10, up by 131.70 points or 1.18% after trading in a range of 11090.15 and 11261.90. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 5.64%, Bharti Airtel up by 4.38%, ICICI Bank up by 4.01%, SBI up by 3.93% and Ultratech Cement up by 3.92%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 3.94%, HCL Tech down by 2.32%, Zee Entertainment down by 2.15%, Titan Company down by 2.03% and ITC down by 1.95% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 210.59 points or 0.81% to 25,682.81, Nikkei 225 slipped 131.40 points or 0.61% to 21,456.38, Taiwan Weighted dropped 127.35 points or 1.16% to 10,889.96, Straits Times trembled 16.20 points or 0.52% to 3,094.65 and Jakarta Composite lost 10.18 points or 0.17% to 6,029.42. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was up by 11.29 points or 0.39% to 2,924.86.