Local equities trade marginally higher

Local equity benchmarks continue to trade marginally in green in morning session on the back of buying interest across some blue chip counters. Indices like Telecom and Metal were inched higher with the up-move on the benchmarks. Among heavy-weights Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank and Tata Steel exhibited a smart performance. Some optimism came with Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that she promised more sector-specific steps to boost sagging economic growth and asserted that the 32 measures already initiated by the government have started ‘bearing results’. Meanwhile, Union Minister Piyush Goyal stated that the Centre has chalked out a plan envisaging an investment of Rs 100 lakh crore in the infrastructure sector over the next five years. On the sectoral front, textile industry stocks were in focus, as CII Tamil Nadu State Council Vice-Chairman Hari Thiagarajan stated that the Indian textile industry can become a $300 billion industry by 2030 and create an additional 35 million jobs. This can be achieved if the industry enhanced its focus on exporting higher value added products, modernisation and sustainable business practices.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red as China lashed out at the US after President Donald Trump signed two bills supporting Hong Kong’s pro-democracy demonstrators. Back home, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad stated that gross revenue of the telecom sector fell about Rs 41,000 crore in three years on account of a dip in mobile services charges.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 41069.01, up by 48.40 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 41022.81 and 41163.79. There were 14 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.42%, while Small cap index was up by 0.18%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 3.46%, Metal up by 1.09%, Realty up by 1.03%, TECK up by 0.86% and Basic Materials was up by 0.65%, while Auto down by 0.29%, FMCG down by 0.25%, Power down by 0.11%, Utilities down by 0.04% and Industrials was down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 2.12%, ICICI Bank up by 1.75%, Tata Steel up by 1.54%, TCS up by 1.32% and Yes Bank was up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Tata Motors - DVR down by 1.89%, Tata Motors down by 0.97%, HDFC down by 0.79%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.77% and Bajaj Finance was down by 0.63% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Tamil Nadu State Council Vice-Chairman Hari Thiagarajan has said that the Indian textile industry can become a $300 billion industry by 2030 and create an additional 35 million jobs. He stated this can be achieved if the industry enhanced its focus on exporting higher value added products, modernization and sustainable business practices.

He asserted that synthetic fabrics and performance garments are going to be the two most promising segments. He further mentioned that the industry accounted for 5% of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 13% of the country's export earnings and employed about 50 million people.

Besides, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) Chairman T Rajkumar said though global recession was a main factor for the setbacks faced by the industry, imports of yarns, fabrics, and garments from Bangladesh and SAARC region pose a major threat to the local industry.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 12118.50, up by 17.80 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 12099.95 and 12138.30. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Infratel up by 8.03%, UPL up by 3.92%, JSW Steel up by 2.95%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.12% and Tata Steel was up by 1.82%. On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 1.72%, Tata Motors down by 1.02%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.87%, Britannia down by 0.84% and HDFC was down by 0.80% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in red; Hang Seng decreased 66.48 points or 0.25% to 26,887.52, Nikkei 225 slipped 38.69 points or 0.17% to 23,399.08, Jakarta Composite lost 19.78 points or 0.33% to 6,003.26, Straits Times trembled 10.55 points or 0.33% to 3,204.98, KOSPI fell 9.41 points or 0.44% to 2,118.44, Shanghai Composite declined 8.86 points or 0.31% to 2,894.33 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 8.20 points or 0.07% to 11,639.26.