Domestic markets trade in fine-fettle in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks magnified their previous session’s gains with optimistic start on Friday on strong global cues. Markets are trading in fine-fettle in early deals with gains of over half a percent each on sustained buying. Sentiments got a boost as Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said the measures taken by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will increase inflows of overseas funds and help in strengthening the rupee against the US dollar. Traders took note of report that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asked the Niti Aayog to prepare a report mapping all the industrial activities such as corridors, logistics parks and pharma hubs so that they can be incorporated under the PM Gati Shakti initiative of the government. Though, upside remained capped amid concerns as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 925.22 crore on July 07 in Indian equity market.

On the global markets, all the Asian markets are trading higher following the broadly positive cues overnight from global markets, boosted by materials and energy stocks amid rebounding commodity prices. Traders also indulged in some strong buying in several sectors amid hopes the central bank would gradually start lightening its policy stance later this year. Meanwhile, the value of overall bank lending in Japan was up 1.3 percent on year in June, the Bank of Japan said on Friday - standing at 585.069 trillion yen. That follows the 0.7 percent increase in May.

Back home, the insurance industry stocks were in focus with a private report that the life insurance industry has reported a meagre growth of 4.15 per cent in new business premiums in June, mainly due to the contraction in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) premiums. In stock specific movement, Suven Pharmaceuticals rose as it received USFDA’s nod for Glycopyrrolate, which is used to treat peptic ulcers in adults. Investors are eyeing IT behemoth Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) result, which is likely to be out later in the day, for further cues.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 54525.45, up by 346.99 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 54350.41 and 54627.14. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.33%, while Small cap index was up by 0.67%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 2.21%, Industrials up by 1.32%, Bankex up by 0.84%, IT up by 0.68%, PSU up by 0.67%, while Realty down by 0.26%, Metal down by 0.17% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 3.57%, Axis Bank up by 2.25%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.74%, NTPC up by 1.71% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.63%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 0.97%, Asian Paints down by 0.90%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.59%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.51% and Indusind Bank down by 0.47% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, praising the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) recent measures, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth has said the measures will increase inflows of overseas funds and help in strengthening the rupee against the US dollar. RBI on Wednesday raised the overseas borrowing limits for companies and liberalised norms for foreign investments in government bonds as it announced a slew of measures to boost foreign exchange inflows.

He said RBI measures, including on External Commercial Borrowing (ECB), are transitory and for shorter duration, and would help in boosting the foreign currency inflows into the country. RBI increased the ECB limit under the automatic route from $750 million or its equivalent per financial year to $1.5 billion and eased the norms for FPI investments in the debt market.

Seth also expressed hope that the global challenges would subside in the short term. Unveiling the measures, the central bank had said that all capital flows barring portfolio investments remain stable and an adequate level of reserves provides a buffer against external shocks. Among the fresh steps, the cap has been removed on interest rate that lenders can offer on foreign deposits by NRIs. The relaxation will be in force till October.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16224.65, up by 91.75 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 16185.20 and 16275.50. There were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Larsen & Toubro up by 4.12%, Coal India up by 2.37%, Grasim Industries up by 2.29%, Axis Bank up by 2.18% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.95%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 0.90%, Tata Steel down by 0.79%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.75%, JSW Steel down by 0.72% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.71% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets are trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 163.04 points or 0.62% to 26,653.57, Straits Times rose 7.36 points or 0.24% to 3,136.76, Hang Seng added 34.77 points or 0.16% to 21,678.35, Taiwan Weighted jumped 105.64 points or 0.74% to 14,441.91, KOSPI advanced 19.79 points or 0.85% to 2,354.06, Jakarta Composite soared 54.49 points or 0.82% to 6,707.08 and Shanghai Composite was up by 5.88 points or 0.17% to 3,370.28.