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Sensex, Nifty gain traction in late afternoon deals
Mar-19-2019

The key equity indices gained traction in late afternoon session, following firm European markets. In line with the larger peers, the broader indices too rallied with the gains of over half a percent each. Traders were in cheerful mood, amid a report that the net direct tax collection figure has crossed the Rs 10 lakh crore mark as on March 16, helped by the fourth and final installment of tax payment. The entire advance tax data from across the country has not come yet. The net direct tax collection during April-January of this fiscal stood at Rs 7.89 lakh crore as against Rs 12 lakh crore targeted for the entire fiscal of 2018-19. Some comfort also came with reports that an RBI-appointed panel sought suggestions from the public on long-term solutions for economic and financial sustainability of MSME sector, including ways to improve credit rating mechanism to help them raise funds at competitive rates.

On the sectoral front, realty sector stocks were trading higher, as the all-powerful GST Council approved a transition plan for the implementation of new tax structure for housing units. The meeting deliberated on the transition provision and related issues for the implementation of lower GST rates for the real estate sector. Stocks related to the oil & gas industry also gained with data report from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the Oil Ministry showing that India's fuel demand rose 3.8% in February as free cooking gas connections spurred LPG consumption while petrol and diesel use continued to rise. Fuel consumption in February totalled 17.41 million tonnes as compared to 16.77 million tonnes in the same month last year.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, even though UK households' assessment of their financial well-being fell to the lowest level in thirteen months in March. The survey data from the IHS Markit showed that the IHS Markit Household Finance Index, or HFI, fell to 43.3 in March from 43.4 in February, marking the lowest reading since February 2018. However, Asian markets were trading in red.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38299.85, up by 204.78 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 38078.23 and 38301.43. There were 24 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.55%, while Small cap index was up by 0.51%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.91%, PSU up by 1.57%, Utilities up by 1.44%, Power up by 1.35% and Energy up by 1.28%, while Capital Goods down by 0.86%, Auto down by 0.70%, Industrials down by 0.30%, Consumer Disc down by 0.12% and IT down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 3.21%, ONGC up by 2.91%, ITC up by 2.57%, HCL Tech. up by 2.02% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.78%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.95%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.91%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.84%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.81% and TCS down by 0.79% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank’s Expert Committee has sought suggestions from the public on the various aspects for economic and financial sustainability of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector. The Committee is undertaking a comprehensive review of the sector to identify causes and propose long term solutions for its development.

The Expert Committee wants suggestions for improving the credit rating mechanism for MSMEs, suggestions on definition of MSME for classification / identification of MSME in the context of present system of investment / turnover based criteria, suggestions on infrastructural gaps / problems affecting the development and growth of the MSME clusters and suggestions for addressing the structural gaps in capacity building of entrepreneurs.

The committee also wants to know if the District Industrial Centres (DICs) have met the intended objective and suggestions for improving the role of DICs. The RBI's expert committee sought suggestions till March 28, 2019.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11511.90, up by 49.70 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 11451.25 and 11515.80. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Infratel up by 3.68%, ONGC up by 2.88%, NTPC up by 2.88%, ITC up by 2.09% and HCL Tech up by 1.92%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 2.24%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.93%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.82%, JSW Steel down by 1.75% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.04% were the top losers.

The Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 17.65 points or 0.08% to 21,566.85, KOSPI shed 1.87 points or 0.09% to 2,177.62, Jakarta Composite declined 27.22 points or 0.42% to 6,482.23, Shanghai Composite dropped 8.06 points or 0.26% to 3,088.36 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 0.38 points to 10,512.32. On the flip side, Straits Times gained 6.12 points or 0.19% to 3,219.08, Hang Seng was up by 57.27 points or 0.19% to 29,466.28.

All the European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 27.81 points or 0.38% to 7,327.00, France’s CAC gained 10.98 points or 0.20% to 5,423.81 and Germany’s DAX was up by 45.59 points or 0.39% to 11,702.65.
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