Benchmarks trade steady in afternoon deals on persistent buying activities

Indian equity markets continue to trade steady in afternoon deals on account of sustained buying activities thanks to set of good macro-economic data, which bolstered some hopes that RBI may cut policy rates in its upcoming monetary policy review on April 1. On the macro-front, while factory output posted growth for the first time in four months at 0.1% in January, Retail inflation eased higher than expectation at 25 months low level of 8.10% in February.  In the stable session of trade, both Sensex and Nifty were at striking distance of crucial 21,950 and 6550 levels, with gains of over 3/10 of a percent. Meanwhile, broader indices outperforming larger peers were trading with gains of close to 3 /4 of a percent.

On the global front, Asian shares cautiously rebounded from two-week lows on Thursday though investors were in no mood to embrace risk ahead of a batch of Chinese data that may offer clues about the extent of its economic slowdown.

Closer home, most of the sectoral indices were trading in green, barring Information Technology, Technology and Healthcare counters. On the flip side, stocks from PSU, Oil & Gas and Bankex counters were the top gainers of the session. Fall of Information Technology pivotal was led by Infosys stocks which tanked over 7% on concerns about the revenue outlook after Barclays cited the software service exporter's chief executive SD Shibulal as saying the company was facing challenges in some customer segments. While, losses of Sun Pharmaceuticals spelled trouble for the entire Healthcare counters. Shares in Sun Pharma, India's biggest drugmaker by value, fell as much as 6.4 percent on Thursday after U.S. Food and Drug Administration imposed a ban on imports from generic drug-maker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries' plant at Karkhadi in Gujarat, in the latest quality blow for India's drug sector.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 21942.29, up by 86.07 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 21991.36 and 21720.13. There were 27 stocks advancing against only 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices too added some gains; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.75%, while Small cap index up by 0.67%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 2.35%, Oil & Gas up by 2.31%, Bankex up by 2.00%, Oil and Gas up by 2.24%, Consumer Durables up by 1.29% and Capital Goods up by 1.22%. While, IT down by 2.62%, Teck down by 2.15% and Healthcare down by 0.46% were the only losing indices on BSE.   

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 2.89%, SBI up by 2.63%, M&M up by 2.41%, HDFC Bank up by 2.33% and Dr Reddy’s Lab up by 2.14%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 7.38%, Sun pharma down by 4.00% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.01% were the only losers on the index.

Meanwhile, with an aim to counter money laundering and terror financing through the capital markets, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has tightened norms and asked capital market entities to conduct detailed risk assessment of their clients, including those linked to countries facing international sanctions. The SEBI latest move came ahead of general elections scheduled for April-May as such period typically witness a spurt in money laundering through the capital markets.

As per the SEBI new norms, registered intermediaries shall carry out risk assessment to identify, assess and take effective measures to mitigate its money laundering and terrorist financing risk with respect to its clients, countries or geographical areas, nature and volume of transactions, payment methods used by clients. Further, the risk assessment shall be documented, updated regularly and made available to competent authorities and self regulating bodies, as and when required.

Market intermediaries have been told to appoint designated directors to ensure compliance with new norms, who would face penal action for any lapses and also allowed to use a third party to carry out due diligence and determine the identity of clients and beneficiaries of the funds. Besides, stock exchanges have been asked to monitor the compliance of various entities through half-yearly internal audits and inspections and keep SEBI informed on these issues. Regarding the mutual funds companies, SEBI notified that compliance of the circular would be monitored by the boards of asset management companies and the trustees and in case of other intermediaries, by their board of directors.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 6,546.80 up by 29.90 points or 0.46% after trading in a range of 6,561.45 and 6,487.55. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 declining on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were BPCL up by 7.11%, Kotak Bank up by 2.97%, ONGC up by 2.73%, SBI up by 2.43% and M&M up by 2.38%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 7.39%, Sun Pharma down by 3.89%, Ranbaxy down by 4.02%, JIndal Steel down by 1.28%, Ranbaxy down by 4.14% and lupin down by 0.81% were the top losers on the index.

Asian equity indices were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 down by 0.10 %, Hang Seng down by 0.43%, Straits Times  descended by 0.43%. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite gained 0.80%, Jakarta Composite added up by 0.53% and Taiwan Weighted advanced 0.73%.