Markets continue to trade near all time highs

Markets continue to trade firm in the noon trade and both the benchmark indices after surging to their fresh all time highs are trading comfortably near to it. The election euphoria has once again gripped the markets taking them higher after a day of consolidation, while there is some short covering on the penultimate day of March F&O series expiry. Further rising rupee, which has surged to its eight months high, was aiding the traders’ sentiments. Foreign investors continued to pump in funds into the Indian markets, driven by the improvement in the economic conditions. The gains of the markets were getting support of fresh buying, mainly in realty, metal, auto, oil & gas and power sector stocks amid higher Asian cues. On the other hand the rupee strength was weighing down the IT and tech stocks, while the defensive FMCG and healthcare, too were witnessing selling pressure. Some of the infra stocks were in somber mood after an IMF report said that the slump in infrastructure and corporate investment has been the single largest contributor to India's recent growth slowdown. It also pointed that that heightened uncertainty regarding the future course of broader economic policies and deteriorating business confidence have played a significant role in the recent investment gloom.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 22148.57, up by 93.36 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 22172.10 and 22110.71. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 declining ones on the index.

The broader indices were outperforming the benchmarks; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.83%, while the Small cap index gained 0.75%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on BSE were, Metal up by 2.67%, Oil & Gas up by 1.59%, Capital Goods up by 1.49%, Auto up by 1.15%, Realty up by 1.07% and Bankex was up by 0.94%. On the other hand FMCG was down by 1.41%, Healthcare was down by 1.19%, IT was down by 0.27% and TECK down by 0.13%, were the losers on the sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindalco up by 3.94%, SSLT up by 3.17%, Tata Motors up by 2.38%, Tata Steel up by 2.36% and Coal India was up by 2.15%. On the flip side, Dr Reddy’s down by 2.21%, ITC down by 2.04%, Sun Pharma down by 1.94%, TCS down by 1.13% and Hero MotoCorp down by 0.94%, were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, in order to revive the investment climate in the country, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has expressed the need for the new government formed after the general elections to focus on implementing policies rather than coming out with new ones. CII Northern Region Chairman Zubin Irani has asserted that there is no need to bring more policies or reforms as the country has already a lot of policies which need quick implementation.

Referring to declining investment level in India, Zubin Irani has stated that investment level as percentage of GDP fell to 31% from 36% earlier, though it is sufficient to achieve 7-8% economic growth if the prevailing policies are effectively implemented. He added that CII would continue to work aggressively with the government on both states & centre level for speedy implementation of infrastructure projects to get growth back. 

Sharing views over the CII's roadmap for next fiscal for northern states, CII Northern Region Chairman stated that main focus of CII would be to accelerate growth and create more employment opportunities. In order to enhance the MSMEs competitiveness, CII will launch four clusters in northern region at - Jaipur, Jalandhar, Baddi and Mandi Gobindgarh, which will guide MSMEs to focus on adoption of automation and latest technologies. The move will help to bring down their factor costs while enhancing productivity and quality. Further, Irani emphasized that financing and availability of credit are the key concern area of MSMEs and CII has worked out an agreement with Canara Bank to provide credit facilities on certain concessional rates to these enterprises.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 6,621.50, up by 31.75 points or 0.48%, after trading in a range of 6,624.00 and 6,607.55. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Hindalco up by 3.85%, Jindal Steel up by 3.33%, SSLT up by 3.28%, IDFC up by 3.22% and Ambuja Cements up by 2.43%. On the flip side, Dr Reddy down by 2.30%, ITC down by 2.16%, Lupin down by 1.87%, Sun Pharma down by 1.72% and TCS down by 1.20% were the top losers on the index.

Most of the Asian indices were trading in green; Hang Seng gained 0.64%, Jakarta Composite was up by 0.58%, Nikkei 225 was gained 0.37%, Straits Times was higher by 1.13%, Seoul Composite surged by 1.19% and Taiwan Weighted gained 0.55%.

On the other hand Shanghai Composite was down by 0.18% and KLSE Composite lost 0.03%.