Indian equity add gains; Nifty above 5,700 mark

Indian equity markets added gains to continue firm trade in the late afternoon session on account of buying in frontline counters and taking cues from European counterparts. The sentiments were also in positive mood on back of better-than-expected manufacturing activity in India. HSBC Markit Manufacturing PMI rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 54.2, from 53.2 in the preceding month. Traders were seen piling some position in Consumer Durables, Capital Goods and Auto sector while selling was witnessed in Realty and Health Care sector. In the scrip specific development, Maruti Suzuki India, the largest car maker in India, was trading firm after reporting February sales which was largely in-line with expectations. On the global front, most of the Asian markets were trading in green while the European markets were too trading on optimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above their psychological 5,700 and 18,900 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 1299:1367 while 124 scrips remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 18,950.94, up by 89.40 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 18,973.96 and 18,820.90. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.55% and Small cap index was up by 0.09%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Consumer Durables up by 2.49%, Capital Goods up by 1.70%, Auto up 1.62%, Power up by 1.47% and Metal up by 1.01%, while Realty down by 2.61% and Health Care down by 0.05% were the only losers on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 5.18%, Jindal Steel up by 3.04%, Tata Power up by 2.59%, L&T up by 2.59% and Bajaj Auto up by 2.46%.

On the flip side, Bharti Airtel was down by 1.67%, Dr Reddy’s Lab was down by 1.45%, Hero MotoCorp was down by 1.24%, ITC was down by 1.24% and TCS was down by 0.78%  were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, marking a forty-seventh consecutive month of rise and the quickest rate in nine months, the seasonally adjusted HSBC manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 54.2 in February, up from 53.2 in January. The numbers depicted a further improvement in business conditions in the country.

The PMI index, which gauges business activity in Indian factories utilities, has held above the 50 mark for almost four years. The pace of expansion was solid with approximately 29% of monitored companies reporting higher levels of new orders and 14% noting a decrease, new orders increased in line with stronger demand, maintained product quality and the launch of new products.

The new orders index rose to 56.3 last month from 55.9 in January but despite posting a solid increase, total export business grew at the slowest pace in the current six-month sequence of expansion.

Manufacturers increased their input buying during February, marking a 47-month sequence of expansion. The PMI survey showed costs of raw materials grew at a steady pace, while prices charged grew at a faster rate during February, raw materials including plastics and fuel all rose in price.

The survey further stated that employment in the Indian manufacturing sector expanded slightly during February. Firms stated that payroll numbers were increased in tandem with higher production requirements.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,733.15 up by 40.10 points or 0.70% after trading in a range of 5,733.35 and 5,679.90. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 5.23%, Reliance Infrastructure up by 4.67%, BPCL up by 4.13%, JP Associates up by 3.52% and Jindal Steel up by 3.25%.

On the flip side, DLF down by 5.91%, IDFC down by 2.61%, Cairn India down by 1.81%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.58% and Siemens down by 1.31% were the major losers on the index.

Most of the Asian equity indices were trading in the green; Jakarta Composite rose 0.27%, Nikkei 225 surged 0.41%, Straits Times added 0.02% and Taiwan Weighted was up by 0.84%.

On the flip side, KLSE Composite lost 0.04%, Shanghai Composite dropped 0.26% and Hang Seng was down by 0.61%. South Korean markets remained closed for the trade today.

The European markets were trading in green; France’s CAC 40 added 0.13%, Germany’s DAX jumped 0.14% and United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 edged higher by 0.19%.