Benchmarks trim minor gains; Nifty above 6300 mark

Indian equities trimmed minor gains but continue to trade in green in the late afternoon session on account of buying in frontline counters. The sentiments were on optimistic mood from early trade after Core Sector data sprinted up positive surprise by growing 8% in September, H1 Fiscal deficit touched 76% of full-year target. Traders were seen piling positions in Realty, Metal and Bankex stocks while selling was witnessed in FMCG, Consumer Durables and Oil & Gas sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Hero Motocorp was trading in green after touching 52-week high after reporting record sales in October. The country’s largest two-wheeler maker sold 6.25 lakh units in the month gone by, registering growth of 18.2% compared to a year ago month and growth of 33.5% compared to previous month. The stock exchanges will hold a special live trading session on Sunday i.e. November 03, 2013, on account of Muhurat trading on Diwali. The trading will commence at 18:15 and will end at 19:30 Ion that day. The stock market remains closed on Monday i.e. November 04, 2013, on account of Diwali-Balipratipada.

On the global front, all the Asian markets were trading on a mixed note while the European markets were trading on pessimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above their psychological 6,300 and 21,100 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1255:1003 while 147 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 21195.58, up by 31.06 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 21293.88 and 21141.32. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.22% while Small cap index up by 0.76%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.59%, Metal up by 1.58%, Bankex up by 1.54%, Auto up by 1.28% and PSU up by 1.14%. While, FMCG down by 0.77%, Consumer Durables down by 0.66%, Oil and Gas down by 0.48%, IT down by 0.41% and TECK down 0.21% were losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 4.59%, M&M up by 3.45%, SSLT up 3.42%, Jindal Steel up by 2.96% and BHEL up by 2.09%.

On the flip side, ONGC down by 1.86%, NTPC down by 1.61%, ITC down by 1.60%, Hindalco Industries down by 0.78% and Infosys down by 0.71% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, foreign direct investment (FDI) in India has surged by about 35 percent to $13.6 billion during the first half of 2013 with merger and acquisitions (M&A) accounting for the bulk of inflows. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report said that foreign investment through M&A registered a growth of 65.7 percent during the first half of 2013 to $1.8 billion as against $1.1 billion in January-June 2012. However, FDI in new projects has declined by 48.7 percent to $8.8 billion during the period.

Increasing FDI inflows into the country reflect that the government’s measures to enhance foreign investment has have started yielding. FDI is considered crucial for economic development of a country and to attract maximum FDI into the country, the government has been liberalizing the foreign investment policy. The government has relaxed FDI norms in around 12 sectors which include telecom, tea, pension and petroleum and natural gas. India would require around $1 trillion in the 12th five year plan (2012-2017), to overhaul its infrastructure sector such as ports, airports and highways to boost growth.

Further, the UNCTAD report highlighted that foreign fund inflows into India has pushed the total figures for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). In terms of FDI inflows among BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries, India stood at fourth position, above South Africa. Developing Asian region continues would absorb more than half of the FDI directed to developing economies and one quarter of global FDI flows.

Among the world's largest recipients of FDI during the reported period, UK topped the chart followed by China with $67 billion foreign inflows. The report further said that global foreign direct investment witnessed a 4 percent rise to $745 billion in the first half of 2013. The FDI inflow to the developed countries has declined. Meanwhile the decline was offset by a rise in flows to developing and transition economies, which accounted for more than 60 percent of the global FDI. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 6,309.80, up by 10.65 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 6,332.60 and 6,286.95.There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were IDFC up by 7.23%, Punjab National Bank up by 6.04%, Bank of Baroda up by 5.39%, SBI up by 4.52% and DLF up by 4.29%.

On the flip side, ONGC down by 2.08%, ITC down by 2.06%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.92%, NTPC down by 1.88% and BPCL down by 0.99%, were the major loser on the index.

The Asian equity indices were trading in mixed; Shanghai Composite up by 0.37%, Seoul Composite up by 0.46%, KLSE Composite up by 0.08% and Hang Seng up by 0.19%. While,  Straits Times down by 0.32%, Nikkei 225 down by 0.88%, Jakarta Composite down by 1.26% and Taiwan Weighted down by 0.73%.

The European markets were trading in red; France’s CAC 40 was down 0.32%, Germany’s DAX lost 0.14% and UK’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.01%.