Sensex, Nifty continue to trade in positive terrain

Indian stock markets continued to trade in positive terrain in the afternoon session due to buying in auto, healthcare and consumer discretionary stocks. Traders took solace with RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das’s statement that India has seen some stabilisation in economic activity in the ongoing fiscal’s second quarter. He added that the economic recovery will be gradual, but some of the high-frequency indicators such as agriculture activity, manufacturing PMI, and private estimates of unemployment point to some stabilisation of economic activity in the second quarter. The RBI Governor also mentioned that the contraction in several other sectors is also simultaneously easing. However, upside remain capped as contracting for the sixth straight month, India's exports slipped 12.66 per cent to $22.7 billion in August, on account of decline in the shipments of petroleum, leather, engineering goods and gems and jewellery items. Buying in frontline stocks such as Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto and Sun Pharma were aiding sentiment, while selling in Indusind Bank, Axis Bank and SBI kept the gains in the markets in check.

On the global front; Asian markets were trading mixed ahead to the key monetary policy meetings of US Federal Reserve due later in the day. Back home; in scrip specific developments, Adani Enterprises surged on report that the company is keen on rebuilding New Delhi railway station and Lakshmi Vilas Bank jumped after the bank said the mutual due diligence process between the lender and Clix Group was nearly complete.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39114.92, up by 70.57 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 39037.96 and 39217.02. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.16%, while Small cap index was up by 0.21%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.79%, Healthcare up by 0.84%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.79%, Realty up by 0.63% and Metal was up by 0.58%, while Bankex down by 0.81%, Utilities down by 0.73%, PSU down by 0.67%, Telecom down by 0.37% and Oil & Gas was down by 0.36% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 5.08%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.79%, Sun Pharma up by 1.32%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.17% and Bajaj Finance was up by 0.99%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.19%, Axis Bank down by 1.56%, SBI down by 1.50%, ICICI Bank down by 1.47% and NTPC was down by 1.10% were the top losers.

Meanwhile; rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that the US restrictions on some textile imports from Xinjiang in China is likely to augur well for the Indian textile exporters. It also said that while there were speculations of a more broad-based ban on the products originating from the region, the restrictions have been limited to a few entities, for now.

The report stated that while the immediate impact, in terms of the market catered to by the identified entities, is not quantifiable, this development could have major repercussions for the global textile trade. It said with China being the leading apparel exporter, accounting for more than 35 percent of the global trade and more than three-fourths of China's cotton originating from the Xinjiang region, any extension of the ban to a wider base in China could trigger a material shift in global apparel trade in coming years.

On September 14, the US imposed restrictions on the import of certain products originating from the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in China, citing concerns on illegal and inhumane forced labour in the region. Besides banning imports of other product categories, including hair products and computer parts, it also includes restrictions on some entities from the region involved in manufacturing apparels and producing and processing cotton. Xinjiang is a major cotton-producing belt, which accounts for an estimated 80-85 percent of China's cotton output.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11554.40, up by 32.60 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 11516.75 and 11570.35. There were 27 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining, while 1 stock remains unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 5.13%, Bajaj Auto up by 3.21%, Tata Motors up by 3.10%, Britannia Inds up by 2.38% and Hindalco was up by 2.18%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.13%, Axis Bank down by 1.53%, SBI down by 1.52%, ICICI Bank down by 1.51% and ONGC was down by 1.15% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng decreased 15.09 points or 0.06% to 24,717.67, Shanghai Composite declined 12.97 points or 0.39% to 3,282.71, KOSPI fell 7.66 points or 0.31% to 2,435.92 and Jakarta Composite was down by 35.04 points or 0.69% to 5,065.83.

On the other side; Taiwan Weighted strengthened 131.11 points or 1.02% to 12,976.76, Straits Times advanced 12.26 points or 0.49% to 2,498.09 and Nikkei 225 was up by 20.64 points or 0.09% to 23,475.53.