Indian markets open firm

Thu, 1 Oct 09:30 am

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Barring Singapore market (down 1.8%), all the major Asian stock markets have opened the day on a firm note. Japan market (up 2.1%) and Hong Kong market (up 1.4%) are leading the pack of gainers. Major equity indices in Europe and US too closed their yesterday's trading session on an encouraging note. The rupee is currently trading at Rs 65.74 to the US dollar.

The Indian share markets have opened on a positive note. The Sensex today is higher by around 222 points (0.9%), while the NSE-Nifty is higher by about 51 points (up 0.63%). The mid cap and small cap stocks have also opened in green with S&P BSE Midcap index and S&P BSE Smallcap index up by 0.6% and 0.7% respectively. Among the sectoral indices, barring stocks from consumer durables, all the sectors are witnessing buying interest. Stocks from healthcare and power are in maximum demand.

As reported in a financial daily, the Indian commerce and industry ministry released data on core sector growth for the month of August 2015. Reportedly, the index of eight core industries registered growth of 2.6% YoY, for the said month. This growth is much higher compared to the growth reported for the month of July 2015, which stood at 1.1%. Out of the eight sectors, five sectors registered a growth above 5% for the month. However, the growth in the three sectors viz; coal, natural gas, and steel declined for the month of August. While the growth momentum has improved for the month August, however, given the poor performance of the three sectors the growth could moderate in the coming months.

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Ltd, India's largest mortgage lender will be raising Rs 50 bn through Non convertible debentures and warrants to Qualified institutional buyers (QIBs). The housing finance company will use the proceeds from the issue to boost lending operations and meet its future capital needs. HDFC has been able to post healthy growth in loan book and maintain net interest margin over the past few quarters. The entity's capital adequacy ratio and gross NPAs stood at 15.8% and 0.7% respectively at the end of June 2015. What is commendable is that the housing finance company has been able to keep asset quality in check despite the overall slowdown. Going ahead as the economy picks up and with the government's strong focus on Smart Cities and affordable housing, credit offtake for housing loans is likely to grow at a robust pace.