Barometer gauges continue to trade in positive terrain

Indian stock markets continued to trade in positive terrain in the afternoon session due to buying in healthcare, power and basic materials stocks. Buying in frontline stocks such as Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance and HDFC were aiding sentiment, while selling in ITC, Maruti Suzuki and Titan Company kept the gains in the markets in check. Besides, broader indices were also trading in green, supporting their larger peers. Stock markets continue upward trend as data showed the country’s annual retail inflation eased slightly in August, against expectations. India's retail inflation in August of 6.69 percent was lower than the 6.73 percent recorded in July, but it remained above the upper end of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) medium-term target for the fifth straight month. Meanwhile; Bank credit grew 5.49 percent to Rs 102.11 lakh crore, while deposits increased 10.92 percent to Rs 141.76 lakh crore in the fortnight ended August 28, according to RBI data.

On the global front; Asian markets were trading mostly higher as Chinese retail sales returned to growth in August for the first time in 2020, rising 0.5% year over year. Back on street; according to private report the much-awaited initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is unlikely to happen this financial year, primarily due to an expected delay in the valuation process. In scrip specific developments; Adani Green Energy touched upper limit on entering the elite club of firms with Rs 1 trillion market-capitalizations. The firm joins the ranks of Titan Company, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), and Avenue Supermarts.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38914.15, up by 157.52 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 38753.68 and 39013.06. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.68%, while Small cap index was up by 1.11%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 2.02%, Power up by 1.66%, Basic Materials up by 1.09%, Telecom up by 0.98% and Utilities was up by 0.97%, while Realty down by 0.69%, Auto down by 0.28%, FMCG down by 0.12% and PSU down by 0.05% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 2.20%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.53%, HDFC up by 1.38%, ICICI Bank up by 1.17% and Power Grid was up by 1.08%. On the flip side, ITC down by 1.09%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.99%, Titan Company down by 0.71%, Asian Paints down by 0.69% and Bajaj Auto was down by 0.65% were the top losers.

Meanwhile; Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur has said that the steep cut in corporate tax rate made India a globally competitive and favoured destination for investment and the impact of this landmark reform would be felt in the coming years. He noted that in September 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the lowering of the base corporate tax rate to 22 percent from 30 percent for companies that do not seek exemptions and reduced the rate for some new manufacturing companies to 15 percent from 25 percent. He said this has enabled the corporate tax rates in India to be amongst the lowest in the world.

As per the estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for April-June quarter of fiscal year 2020-21 (Q1FY21), the minister said the real GDP in India contracted by 23.9 percent as against a 5.2 percent growth in the same quarter previous fiscal. He said with the phased unlocking of the Indian economy since June 1, 2020, high-frequency economic indicators like PMI Manufacturing, index of eight core industries, E-way bills, Kharif sowing, power consumption, railway freight, cargo traffic and passenger vehicle sales have recovered and indicate growing convergence with previous year's activity levels.

Thakur further said that structural reforms have been announced as part of the Atmanirbhar Package, which include deregulation of the agricultural sector, change in the definition of MSMEs, new PSU policy, commercialisation of coal mining, higher FDI limits in defence and space sector.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11493.35, up by 53.30 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 11442.25 and 11510.55. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddys Lab up by 3.41%, Cipla up by 3.31%, Sun Pharma up by 2.17%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.67% and HDFC was up by 1.48%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 1.21%, ITC down by 1.09%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.09%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.08% and BPCL was down by 0.87% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; Hang Seng increased 106.97 points or 0.43% to 24,747.25, Shanghai Composite gained 12.84 points or 0.39% to 3,291.65, KOSPI rose 15.67 points or 0.65% to 2,443.58, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 57.83 points or 0.45% to 12,845.65 and Straits Times was up by 10.85 points or 0.44% to 2,493.40.

On the flip side; Jakarta Composite lost 52.42 points or 1.02% to 5,109.41 and Nikkei 225 was down by 104.41 points or 0.44% to 23,454.89.