Bourses regain traction in late afternoon deals

Indian equity bourses regained traction in late afternoon session, tracking firm European markets. Traders were optimistic, amid reports that India is likely to make a strong pitch for exports of its Pharma, IT and agricultural products among others at China's second International Import Expo (CIIE) to be opened at Shanghai on November 5. The street also remained positive 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.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, even though Italy's manufacturing sector contracted at the fastest pace in seven months in October. The data from IHS Markit showed that the manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 47.7 in October versus 47.8 in September. The index has remained below 50 threshold for the thirteenth consecutive month. Asian markets were also trading in green.

Back home, sugar industry stocks were in focus, as industry body Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said that sugar production in Maharashtra and Karnataka in the new marketing year 2019-20 is likely to be delayed by more than a month as mills have not commenced their operation because of rains and shortage of sugarcane.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40361.57, up by 196.54 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 40186.29 and 40483.21. There were 16 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.22%, while Small cap index was up by 0.47%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.13%, Telecom up by 2.15%, Basic Materials up by 1.79%, IT up by 1.18% and TECK up by 1.14%, while Auto down by 0.84%, Consumer Disc down by 0.53%, FMCG down by 0.43%, Consumer Durables down by 0.32% and Realty down by 0.26% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Vedanta up by 3.60%, Tata Steel up by 3.46%, Infosys up by 3.26%, ONGC up by 3.05% and HDFC up by 2.06%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.05%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.80%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.21%, Power Grid down by 0.91% and Indusind Bank down by 0.85% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India is likely to make a strong pitch for exports of its Pharma, IT and agricultural products among others at China's second International Import Expo (CIIE) to be opened at Shanghai on November 5.

Besides, India will be one of the 'Guest of Honour Country' at China's big import expo. An Indian business delegation headed by Commerce Secretary, Anup Wadhawan, would take part in the import expo which is aimed at enabling countries from the world over to showcase products to enhance their export to China.

More than 500,000 buyers and visitors from home and abroad are expected at the expo. The expo is composed of three parts -- country exhibitions, business exhibitions and the second Hongqiao International Economic Forum.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11953.20, up by 62.60 points or 0.53% after trading in a range of 11905.35 and 11989.15. There were 29 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Infratel up by 6.22%, JSW Steel up by 5.43%, Vedanta up by 3.50%, Infosys up by 3.21% and Tata Steel up by 3.14%. On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 3.72%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.23%, Indian Oil Corp. down by 2.10%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.78% and Indusind Bank down by 1.15% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 392.70 points or 1.45% to 27,493.46, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 157.32 points or 1.38% to 11,556.85, Shanghai Composite gained 19.30 points or 0.65% to 2,977.50 and KOSPI rose 30.04 points or 1.43% to 2,130.24. On the global front, Straits Times trembled 0.44 points or 0.01% to 3,228.99 and Jakarta Composite lost 12.87 points or 0.21% to 6,194.32.

All European markets were trading in green; FTSE gained 32.03 points or 0.44% to 7,334.45, CAC rose 35.54 points or 0.62% to 5,797.43 and DAX was up by 105.10 points or 0.81% to 13,066.15.