Markets continue to trade in high spirit; Nifty above 11,950 mark

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in high spirit in early noon session, on account of broad based buying in blue chip counters amid positive Asian cues. Most of the sectoral indices were trading firm and Metal was the top gainer on BSE, up by around 3.29% followed by Telecom and Basic Materials indices, trading up over 2.00%. Apart from blue chips, broader indices too equally participated in the rally with both mid and small cap indices trading higher by 0.46% and 0.80%. Healthy buying was observed in blue-chip stocks like Infosys, Tata Steel and Vedanta. Sentiments remained up-beat with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that India is rolling out ‘faceless tax assessment’ system to forestall any discretion or harassment in tax collection. He highlighted major reform initiatives launched by his government in the financial sectors in the last five years. Traders also got boost with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) data showing that India's forex reserves increased by $1.832 billion to a new lifetime high of $442.583 billion in the week ended October 25, helped by a jump in core currency assets and value of gold.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, as the upbeat US job data bolstered global investors’ appetite for riskier assets. Growing optimism over US-China trade talks aimed for defusing a nearly 16-month-long trade war, also lifted the market sentiments. Back home, in scrip specific developments, shares of Bajaj Finance were trading higher on report that the company will look to issue its qualified Institutional placement (QIP) this week. Besides, Relaxo Footwears jumped up after the company reported strong operating performance with a more than 300 basis points (bps) margin improvement in September quarter (Q2FY20).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40420.36, up by 255.33 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 40267.30 and 40483.21. There were 20 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.46%, while Small cap index was up by 0.80%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.29%, Telecom up by 2.75%, Basic Materials up by 2.15% IT up by 1.64% and TECK was up by 1.63%, while Auto down by 0.72%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.36% and Consumer Durables was down by 0.23% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 5.40%, Tata Steel up by 4.48%, Vedanta up by 4.12%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.83% and ICICI Bank was up by 1.80%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 1.73%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.72%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.29%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.88% and Tata Motors was down by 0.83% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has felt that not being part of the proposed mega trade deal Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will harm India's exports and investment flow in the future by cutting off the country from the trading bloc comprising 15 other nations in terms of preferential access. The CII’s comments assume importance as a section of domestic industries has raised serious anxieties over the RCEP deal over tariff-related issues.

According to the industry body, not joining the RCEP would also stymie India's efforts to increase its integration into regional and global chains, as preferential and comprehensive agreements facilitate investments and foster the growth of value chains. It also expects increased trade with RCEP nations once the mega agreement is signed. It noted that by being part of the bloc, India will get an opportunity to tap large and vibrant economies and grow its exports. It also pointed out that not being part of the bloc is tantamount to not having an even footing in terms of preferential access and losing export competitiveness.

CII further said that the 16-member RCEP has the potential to become one of the largest and economically dynamic trading blocs of the world, even bigger than the European Union. It stated that in 2017, RCEP countries contained 47.6 percent of the global population, contributed 31.6 percent of global gross domestic product and 30.8 percent of global trade.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11967.45, up by 76.85 points or 0.65% after trading in a range of 11927.60 and 11989.15. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Infratel up by 6.45%, JSW Steel up by 5.72%, Tata Steel up by 4.51%, Infosys up by 4.40% and Vedanta was up by 3.92%. On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 4.02%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.85%, Yes Bank down by 1.43%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.39% and Indian Oil Corporation was down by 1.33% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 349.04 points or 1.29% to 27,449.80, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 157.32 points or 1.38% to 11,556.85, KOSPI rose 29.20 points or 1.39% to 2,129.40, Shanghai Composite gained 17.73 points or 0.6% to 2,975.93 and Straits Times was up by 3.24 points or 0.1% to 3,232.67. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was down by 12.48 points or 0.2% to 6,194.71.