Sensex, Nifty continue to trade in positive terrain

Indian stock markets continued to trade in positive terrain in the early noon session due to buying in Healthcare, Bankex and Consumer Durables stocks. Buying in frontline stocks such as Yes Bank, ONGC, and ICICI Bank were aiding sentiment, while selling in Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors - DVR and Power Grid Corporation kept the gains in the markets in check. Some optimism came with a private report which stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is finally attempting to overhaul India’s most controversial labour laws to attract investment and make it easier to do business in a country where changing archaic rules is a challenge for any government. Meanwhile, a report said that Central GST collection so far this fiscal stood at Rs 3.26 lakh crore, which is around half the government’s target for 2019-20. The Budget Estimates for Central Goods and Services Tax (GST) for 2019-20 has been fixed at Rs 6,63,343 crore.

On global front, Asian equity benchmarks are trading mixed, after an upbeat start of the session amid optimism over US-China trade talks, prompted by Beijing’s new guidelines for the protection of patents and copyrights. Meanwhile, investors’ sentiment got weighed after China's central bank said that Beijing needs to resolve outstanding financial risks, and must counter risks from abnormal market fluctuations stemming from external shocks. Back home, in scrip specific development, share of Indigo dipped after aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) barred the operator from operating Airbus A320 and 321 Neo aircraft having turbine blades built with titanium, which is prone to damage leading to mid-air engine shut down.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40958.47, up by 69.24 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 40888.18 and 41120.28. There were 19 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.12%, while Small cap index was up by 0.17%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.67%, Bankex up by 0.41%, Consumer Durables up by 0.36%, FMCG up by 0.23% and Utilities was up by 0.12%, while Telecom down by 3.77%, Realty down by 0.70%, TECK down by 0.63%, Metal down by 0.52% and Capital Goods was down by 0.40% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 3.45%, ONGC up by 1.38%, ICICI Bank up by 1.14%, Indusind Bank up by 0.75% and Infosys was up by 0.71%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 3.32%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 1.58%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.36%, Vedanta down by 0.89% and Larsen & Toubro was down by 0.70% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) in its latest payroll data has showed that around 12.23 lakh jobs were created in September 2019, lower than 13.38 lakh in the previous month. The National Statistical Office (NSO) in a report said that gross enrolments of new subscribers with the ESIC were 1.49 crore during the entire 2018-19 fiscal. It also indicated that during September 2017 to September 2019, around 3.10 crore new subscribers joined the ESIC scheme.

The NSO report is based on the payroll data of new subscribers of various social security schemes run by the ESIC, retirement fund body EPFO and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). It has been releasing the payroll data or new subscribers data of these three bodies since April 2018, covering a period starting from September 2017.

As per the report, gross new enrolments with the ESIC during September 2017 to March 2018 were 83.35 lakh. A net of 9.98 lakh new enrolments with the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) were recorded in September, as compared to 9.41 lakh in August this year. During 2018-19, 61.12 lakh new subscribers on a net basis joined the social security schemes run by the EPFO. Similarly, the net new enrolments were 15.52 lakh during September 2017 to March 2018.

The report further showed that during September 2017 to September 2019, around 2.85 crore new subscribers joined the EPF scheme. It pointed out that since the number of subscribers are from various sources, there are elements of overlap and the estimates are not additive. The NSO said that the present report gives different perspectives on the levels of employment in the formal sector and does not measure employment at a holistic level.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 12081.00, up by 7.25 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 12063.00 and 12132.45. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 3.29%, GAIL India up by 1.39%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.25%, ONGC up by 1.22% and ICICI Bank was up by 1.18%. On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 6.75%, Bharti Infratel down by 6.44%, Bharti Airtel down by 3.41%, Grasim Industries down by 2.35% and JSW Steel was down by 2.13% were the top losers.

Asian market were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 99.16 points or 0.43% to 23,391.97, KOSPI rose 9.49 points or 0.45% to 2,132.99, Shanghai Composite gained 1.39 points or 0.05% to 2,907.56 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 55.19 points or 0.48% to 11,616.77.

On the other hand, Straits Times trembled 6.93 points or 0.22% to 3,213.70, Hang Seng decreased 35.97 points or 0.13% to 26,957.07 and Jakarta Composite was down by 4.40 points or 0.07% to 6,066.36.