Benchmarks manage to hold gains despite weak global cues

Key bourses managed to hold the gains and continued their higher trade in late afternoon session despite weak global cues. Optimism raised in domestic markets after reports of India and the US have finalised the terms of reference outlining the roadmap for negotiations of the proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). The renewed interest of FIIs in Indian equity markets have uplifted the investor confidence with FIIs buying Rs 4317.31 crore in equities in yesterday’s session. However, the gains remained capped as the rising concerns of independence of Federal reserve has whipsawed financial market after President Trump criticize the Fed chair Jerome Powell.

On the global front, Asian equity markets are trading mixed tracking negative cues from Wall Street. European equity markets were trading mostly in red amid lingering concerns about trade tensions due to the U.S. government's trade policy.

Back home, steel stocks remained in limelight as Government of India imposed a 12% safeguard duty on the import of certain non-alloy and alloy steel flat products in an effort to protect domestic steel manufacturers from the adverse impact of import surges and to ensure fair competition in the market.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79587.79, up by 179.29 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 79253.44 and 79824.30. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.16%, while Small cap index was up by 1.06%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.86%, Consumer Durables up by 1.75%, FMCG up by 1.72%, Healthcare up by 0.94% and Consumer discretionary up by 0.89%, while TECK down by 0.93%, IT down by 0.55%, Utilities down by 0.52%, Power down by 0.50% and Telecom down by 0.29% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 1.95%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.88%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.74%, HDFC Bank up by 1.73% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.50%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 4.64%, Infosys down by 2.00%, Power Grid Corporation Of India down by 1.97%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.86% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.81% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that India should engage with China and the US on equal terms and the engagement should be guided by its strategic autonomy, economic interest and global trade principles, not by external pressure. These remarks came in the backdrop of China's warning that it would take countermeasures in a ‘resolute and reciprocal’ manner against nations that strike trade deals with America at the expense of Chinese interests. 

GTRI said that China's warning of retaliation against countries aligning with the US efforts to isolate Beijing must be viewed through the lens of global supply chain realities. Leading economies, including the US, EU, Japan, South Korea, and India, are deeply dependent on China for the supply of industrial and consumer goods. China is embedded at every level of the global production hierarchy - finished goods, intermediate products and parts and components. Replacing China entirely requires building manufacturing capabilities from the raw material stage upward an effort that no country has yet achieved at scale.

The think tank said that India must chart an independent course, strengthening its domestic manufacturing base and reducing critical import dependencies through targeted investment in deep manufacturing. At the same time, it said India should remain firmly committed to WTO-led multilateral trade norms and avoid actions that risk violating global rules. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24175.25, up by 49.70 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 24072.00 and 24242.60. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 1.95%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.85%, HDFC Bank up by 1.80%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.72% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.59%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 4.67%, Infosys down by 2.05%, Power Grid Corporation Of India down by 1.97%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.86% and Hero MotoCorp down by 1.80% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 167.18 points or 0.78% to 21,562.32, Jakarta Composite gained 87.25 points or 1.35% to 6,533.22, Straits Times rose 36.94 points or 0.98% to 3,796.16 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 8.33 points or 0.25% to 3,299.76, while KOSPI dropped 1.78 points or 0.07% to 2,486.64, Nikkei 225 slipped 59.32 points or 0.17% to 34,220.60 and Taiwan Weighted lost 312.77 points or 1.66% to 18,793.43.

European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC fell 31.35 points or 0.43% to 7,254.51 and Germany’s DAX lost 47.24 points or 0.22% to 21,158.62, while UK’s FTSE 100 increased 15.21 points or 0.18% to 8,290.87.