Shot in the Arm for Natural Gas, Exports Under Cloud and Top Stocks in Action

Wed, 18 Apr Pre-Open

   Previous Close   

   09:30 am   

   12:30 pm   

   Closing   

On Tuesday, share markets in India opened on a flat note, remained rangebound and ended the day on a firm footing.

The BSE Sensex closed higher by 90 points to end the day above the 34,300 mark at 33,395. While the broader NSE Nifty ended the day higher by 20 points to end at 10,549.

Among BSE sectoral indices, power stocks rose the most by 1.2% on the back of rising aluminum prices and waning trade war concerns between US and China. This was followed by realty stocks at 1.2% and FMCG stocks at 1.1%. Jet Airways and Indian Hotels were among the major gainers.

Top Stocks in Action Today

Bajaj Electrical is likely to be in focus today after it bagged orders worth Rs 35.8 billion for rural/urban electrification projects in Uttar Pradesh. The projects are from Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited under the Saubhagya Yojna of Government of India.

Gruh Finance is another stock to watch today after the housing finance subsidiary of HDFC reported a robust financial performance in the March quarter. Additionally, the housing finance entity recommended a bonus issue in the ratio of 1:1 and dividend of Rs 3.30 per share of face value of Rs 2 for the year ended 31 March 2018.

Spotlight on the Natural Gas Economy

To reduce its carbon footprint, the Indian government is targeting to increase the share of natural gas in the primary energy-mix from the present level of 6% to 15% by 2030. Therefore, to ease the gas supply, the thrust has been on raising production of gas as well as import of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), completion of the national pipeline grid and faster roll-out of the city gas distribution network in the country.

Further, the government is also planning to launch a Gas Trading Hub/Exchange (GTHE) to boost the consumption of natural gas in the country. The GTHE that is expected to come up by October will result in better price discovery through the creation of the Indian gas benchmark. Presently the price of bulk natural gas is fixed by the government based on the price prevalent in gas-surplus nations of Russia, US, China and the cost of importing LNG.

The oil ministry has also initiated steps to build the regulatory framework to enable the establishment and operation of GTHE.

Apart from being used as an auto fuel in the form Compressed Natural gas (CNG) and cooking fuel as Piped Natural Gas (PNG), natural gas also finds application in a host of user industries such as fertilizers, power, petrochemicals and refineries. Therefore, the creation of the hub will act as central pricing point for the network and usher in transparent pricing thereby boosting the natural gas economy in the country.

India's Export Market in Doldrums

Even as the domestic economy has been struggling to get on track, the country's exports continue to remain lackluster. The introduction of Goods and Service Tax (GST) in July last year has delayed refunds to exporters, adversely impacting trade in FY18.

The country's merchandise exports to GDP ratio slipped to a 15-year low of 11.7%. The share of exports in GDP had last contracted to a low level of 10.5% in FY04.

What's further worrying is that the waning effect of GST alone will not be able to revive the country's export fortunes. The gems and jewellery sector, that accounts for a significant share of the export basket, has been hit hard by the ban on Letter of Credit in the aftermath of the fraud in PNB bank. For the second month in a row, gems and jewellery exports contracted and fell by 16.6% YoY in March.

Even textile and engineering good exports have been struggling due to escalating raw material costs and growing protectionism in developed economies. As a matter of fact, the continuation of US's strong protectionist policies is likely to adversely impact the entry of duty-free products from India thereby keeping exports under pressure in future.

Therefore, given a weak outlook for the export market, revival in domestic consumption is likely to drive the much-anticipated economic recovery in future.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

Read the latest Market Commentary

Top Gainers TodayTop Gainers over 1-WeekTop Gainers over 1-MonthTop Gainers over 1-YearTop Gainers over 3-YrsTop Gainers over 5-YrsTop Losers TodayTop Losers over 1-WeekTop Losers over 1-MonthTop Losers over 1-YearTop Losers over 3-YrsTop Losers over 5-YrsOnly BuyersOnly SellersMost Active StocksMost Popular Stocks52 Week High Stocks52 Week Low Stocks

INDICESBSE (Rs 0 to 1)BSE (Rs 1 to 2)BSE (Rs 2 to 4)BSE (Rs 4 to 10)BSE (Rs 10 to 20)BSE (Above Rs 20)BSE - AllBSE-30BSE-100BSE-200BSE-500BSE AutoBSE BankexBSE Capital GoodsBSE Consumer DurablesBSE FMCGBSE HealthcareBSE ITBSE MetalBSE Oil & GasBSE PSUBSE TeckBSE RealtyBSE PowerBSE A GroupBSE B GroupBSE Mid-CapBSE Small-CapBSE Basic MaterialsBSE Consumer DiscretionaryBSE IndustrialsBSE UtilitiesBSE Sensex 50BSE Sensex Next 50BSE Bharat 22BSE 150 MidCapBSE 250 SmallCapBSE 250 LargeMidCapBSE 400 MidSmallCapBSE AllCapBSE LargeCapBSE SmallCap SelectBSE 100 LargeCap TMCBSE InfraBSE ManufacturingBSE CPSEBSE Private BankBSE Diversified FinancialsBSE MomentumBSE Low VolatilityBSE QualityBSE Enhanced ValueBSE Divident StabilityS&P BSE IPOBSE SMEIPOBSE 100 ESGBSE CarbonexBSE GreenexNSE (Rs 0 to 10)NSE (Rs 10 to 20)NSE (Above Rs 20)NSE - AllNSE-50NSE ITNSE Nifty Midcap 50NSE JR. NiftyNSE Bank NiftyNIFTY Next 50NIFTY 100NIFTY 200NIFTY 500NIFTY MidCap 100NIFTY SmallCap 250NIFTY SmallCap 50NIFTY SmallCap 100NIFTY LargeMidCap 250NIFTY MidSmallCap 400NIFTY AutoNIFTY Consumer DurablesNIFTY FinanceNIFTY FMCGNIFTY MediaNIFTY MetalNIFTY PharmaNIFTY Private BankNIFTY PSU BankNIFTY RealtyNIFTY Oil & GasNIFTY SME EmergeNIFTY CommoditiesNIFTY CPSENIFTY EnergyNIFTY India ConsumptionNIFTY InfraNIFTY MNCNIFTY PSENIFTY Serv SectorNIFTY100 Liquid 15NIFTY Midcap Liquid 15NIFTY Midcap 150 Quality 50NIFTY50 Equal WeightNIFTY100 Equal WeightNIFTY100 Low Volatility 30NIFTY100 Alpha 30NIFTY Alpha 50NIFTY Dividend Opportunities 50NIFTY High Beta 50NIFTY Low Volatility 50NIFTY200 Quality 30NIFTY 500 Value 50NIFTY 100 Quality 30SECTORSAgricultureAirlinesAluminiumAsset Management CompaniesAutomobilesAuto AncillariesBanks (Private)Banks (PSU)BankingCementChemicalsDefenceDiagnosticsDronesEngineeringElectric VehicleElectric Vehicle BatteryEnergy SourcesESGEthanolFertilizersFintechFMCGFoodGreen HydrogenHotelsInfrastructureInsuranceInvestment and FinanceInvITIT (Large)IT (Others)LogisticsMediaMetalMiningIndia's Big Tech StocksIndian PharmaMNC PharmaPSUPaintPaperPlasticPowerRating AgenciesReal EstateREITsRenewable EnergyRetailingSemiconductorShippingSteelSugarSupply ChainTelecomTextilesTravel Support Services

10 results 25 results 50 results 100 results All results

Indian Share Market Update: Top Gainers and Losers