Benchmarks hold positive momentum

Local equity markets maintained their positive momentum in the afternoon session, on account of sustained buying in Infosys, Coal India and Mahindra & Mahindra stocks amid firm Asian markets. BSE Mid cap and Small cap are also showing strong gains. On the sectoral front, steel sector companies’ shares were trading lower despite Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan statement that the steel ministry is planning at an aggregate investment of $70 billion in the eastern region of the country through accelerated development of the sector. The minister mentioned that the underdeveloped districts in West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, northern Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha have to be taken forward for development of the steel sector. Besides, Aluminum related stocks also remained in focus as aluminium industry has urged the government to reduce the basic customs duty on critical raw materials like aluminium fluoride, stating that high import duties are a huge disadvantage as they make Indian finished goods costlier and uncompetitive in the international markets.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, as investors await the signing of a phase-one trade deal between the U.S. and China. Back home, Bharat Heavy Electricals shined on the bourses and Indian Oil Corporation gained on tying up with OIL for CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery project in Assam.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 41870.18, up by 270.46 points or 0.65% after trading in a range of 41720.76 and 41899.63. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.73%, while Small cap index was up by 0.81%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.75%, TECK up by 1.52%, Realty up by 1.45%, Oil & Gas up by 0.98% and FMCG was up by 0.94%, while Auto down by 0.21% was the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 4.29%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.48%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.47%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.25% and ONGC up by 1.13%. On the flip side, TCS down by 0.55%, HDFC down by 0.55%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.33%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.20% and Nestle down by 0.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to save foreign exchange, the Union minister for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) Nitin Gadkari has said that the Centre is formulating a scheme to encourage ‘import substitute products’ in the manufacturing. India has increased import tariffs or imposed duties by withdrawing exempt status of goods over the past few years to encourage local manufacturing.

The minister mentioned that there are many industries which are working on import substitute products and saving the nation's money and added that in order to encourage these industries, the Central government is forming a scheme.

Besides, Gadkari noted that many companies go bankrupt and the consequences are faced by the smaller units attached to it. He said the government will look into this matter seriously and policy will be framed for the same. He also expressed a need that the industrial sector should work on cutting down expenditure on power, logistics and capital by exploring new dimensions.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 12327.80, up by 71.00 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 12285.80 and 12337.75. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 4.29%, Coal India up by 2.26%, Indian Oil Corporation up by 1.59%, Wipro up by 1.59% and Hindustan Unilever up by 1.50%. On the flip side, Yes Bank down by 5.92%, Tata Motors down by 1.68%, Bharti Infratel down by 1.28%, UPL down by 1.19% and Eicher Motors down by 1.14% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green, Hang Seng increased 315.63 points or 1.1% to 28,953.83, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 88.77 points or 0.74% to 12,113.42, KOSPI rose 22.87 points or 1.04% to 2,229.26 and Shanghai Composite gained 12.07 points or 0.39% to 3,104.36. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite lost 0.82 points or 0.01% to 6,274.12 and Straits Times was down by 4.71 points or 0.14% to 3,251.24.