Benchmarks turn green amid better than expected trade deficit data

Indian equity benchmarks pared early losses and entered into the positive territory in afternoon session as investors’ sentiments got a boost after Indian trade deficit narrowed sharply to $6.7 billion in the month of September as against $10.9 billion in the previous month. Further, the recovery in rupee value against the dollar also added to the optimistic sentiments. Investors were seen piling up positions in Healthcare, Realty and Oil and Gas stocks. Buying was also witnessed in auto stocks amid hopes that auto companies will post strong sales number in coming future on the back of festival seasons. On stock specific movement, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel and HDFC Bank were trading up by over 1%, while, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and NTPC were trading down by over 1% on BSE.   

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as global investors were remained concern over the prevailing gloomy condition in the US. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above their psychological 5,900 and 20,000 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2,037 stocks traded, 1103 stocks advanced, while 802 stocks declined on the BSE.     

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 20,027.26 up by 43.65 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 20,028.68 and 19,826.96. There were only 17 stocks advancing against 13 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.58%, while Small cap index up by 0.50%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.75%, Realty up by 1.64%, Oil and Gas up by 0.76%, Capital Goods up by 0.57 and FMCG up by 0.41%. While, Consumer Durables down by 0.34%, Bankex down by 0.24%, Teck down by 0.04% were remained the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 3.98%, Tata Steel up by 1.69%, HDFC Bank up by 1.24%, Tata Motors up by 1.24% and Dr Reddy’s Lab up by 1.23%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.91%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.54%, NTPC down by 1.08%, SBI down by 1.06% and Maruti Suzuki down by 1.00% were the only losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Board of India will soon notify new regulations for listing of start-ups and small and medium enterprises (SME) on stock exchanges without making an initial public offer (IPO). Presently, start-ups and SMEs in India are facing problems like lack of availability of exit options for investors, The recent SEBI move is aimed to develop fund-raising capabilities of such companies through providing better visibility, wider investor base and easier exit options for entities such as Angel Investors, Venture Capital Funds and Private Equities.

Further, the SEBI would also exempted such companies from the requirements of having to offer up to 25 percent of shareholding to public through an offer document in order to get listed. Earlier, in June SEBI had said that the minimum amount for trading or investment on the Institutional Trading platform (ITP) would be Rs 10 lakh. Listing on ITP by start-ups and SMEs is expected to offer better chances for their existing investors to find alternate buyers than if they search using their own network in the investment community. Meanwhile, start-ups and SMEs companies that are already listed on ITP would not be permitted to raise capital, though they can continue to make private placements.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,943.45 up by 15.05 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 5,947.20 and 5,877.10. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were JP Associate up by 4.48%, Sun Pharma up by 3.97%, Lupin up by 2.66%, DLF up by 2.59% and NMDC up by 2.11%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 2.26%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.60%, ACC down by 1.30%, M&M down by 1.29% and NTPC down by 1.21% were the major losers on the index.

The Asian equity indices were trading mixed; Jakarta Composite up by 0.16%, Seoul Composite up by 0.42, Straits Times up by 0.21%, Nikki 225 up by 1.03% and Shanghai Composite up by 0.10%.

While, Hang Seng down by 0.65%, KLSE Composite down by 0.29% and Taiwan Weighted down by 0.37%.