Indian equity benchmarks managed to keep their heads above water in afternoon session, on the back of buying by funds and retail investors. Also, better-than-expected Q2 earnings by some blue- chip companies along with the government’s announcement of Rs 25,000-crore special window for stalled real estate projects have supported the markets. However, gains were capped as some concern came with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stating that the Indian government needs to become more ‘transparent’ on the fiscal numbers as it is a ‘laggard’ among the G20 peers on this front. Separately, in order to protect the interests of farmers and boost agriculture exports, Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar has called for a review of regulations under the Essential Commodities Act (ECA). On the sectoral front, oil and gas sector remained in focus after Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said India will see a huge $100 billion investment in creating oil and gas infrastructure by the year 2024 as the world's third-largest energy consumer steps up spending to meet growing demand.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower, as reports of delays in sealing a preliminary Sino-U.S. trade deal left investors frustrated at the lack of concrete progress. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40522.00, up by 52.22 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 40476.12 and 40676.44. There were 11 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.65%, while Small cap index was up by 0.45%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.93%, Realty up by 0.68%, Telecom up by 0.47%, TECK up by 0.46% and IT up by 0.46%, while Auto down by 0.84%, Metal down by 0.65%, Capital Goods down by 0.53%, Oil & Gas down by 0.49% and PSU down by 0.40% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 2.34%, Infosys up by 1.28%, ITC up by 1.09%, HDFC up by 1.05% and Reliance Industries was up by 0.88%. On the flip side, Tata Motors - DVR down by 2.80%, Tata Steel down by 2.62%, Tata Motors down by 2.61%, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.09% and ONGC was down by 1.76% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that India will see a huge $100 billion investment in creating oil and gas infrastructure by the year 2024 as the world's third-largest energy consumer steps up spending to meet growing demand. He said of this, the country will invest near to $60 billion towards developing gas infrastructures such as pipelines, city gas networks, and import terminals. He added that India will chart its own course of energy transition in a responsible manner even as it is said to be a key driver of global energy demand in the coming decades.
Pradhan said the country wants more foreign investment inflow into upstream oil and gas exploration and production as well as downstream fuel marketing and petrochemicals. He also said India will secure capital, world-class technology and implement any policy reforms needed to become an international energy leader. He noted that several reforms including opening up of fuel retailing to non-oil companies and overhaul of exploration licensing policy are aimed at attracting investments.
The Minister stated that India is the third-largest energy consumer in the world in absolute terms after the US and China. However, he said per capita energy consumption in India is only about one-third of the world's average. He pointed out that this makes it imperative to ensure energy justice to all, which essentially means access to energy in an affordable and sustainable manner. He added that given its huge energy appetite and growth potential, India will be the key driver of global energy demand in the coming decades.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11978.00, up by 11.95 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 11960.75 and 12021.40. There were 18 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Infratel up by 2.71%, Indusind Bank up by 2.23%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.54%, Infosys up by 1.36% and HDFC was up by 1.06%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.69%, Tata Steel down by 2.52%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.95%, GAIL India down by 1.83% and ONGC was down by 1.76% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly lower; Hang Seng decreased 105.36 points or 0.38% to 27,583.28, Jakarta Composite lost 83.61 points or 1.34% to 6,133.94, Taiwan Weighted dropped 46.51 points or 0.4% to 11,606.56 and Shanghai Composite was down by 3.08 points or 0.1% to 2,975.52.
On the flip side, KOSPI rose 0.14 points or 0.01% to 2,144.29, Straits Times advanced 4.55 points or 0.14% to 3,267.24 and Nikkei 225 was up by 26.50 points or 0.11% to 23,330.32.
