Share markets in India cheered the decisions of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and finished the day on a buoyant note. At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex closed higher by 231 points, crossing the 30,000 points mark. While, the NSE Nifty finished higher by 48 points. The S&P BSE Midcap finished up by 0.5% while the S&P BSE Small Cap Index ended up by 0.4%.
Among BSE sectoral indices, BSE Bankex was the star-performer and was up 2.3%, followed by FMCG sector and consumer durables sector. On the other hand, realty stocks and oil & gas stocks were the top losers.
Asian equity markets retreated today, taking their cues from a subdued session on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve's hawkish policy statement. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.70%, while the Shanghai Composite and the Hang Seng finished lower. They fell 0.25% and 0.05% respectively. European markets are higher today with shares in France leading the region. The CAC 40 is up 0.75% while Germany's DAX is up 0.72% and London's FTSE 100 is up 0.30%.
The rupee was trading at Rs 64.21 against the US$ in the afternoon session. Oil prices were trading at US$ 47.46 at the time of writing.
The Bank Nifty closed at record high after a government's move to tackle surging bad loans. Indian Overseas Bank share price and Central Bank share price were the most active stocks in this space. ICICI Bank Ltd was up 9.2% hitting a fresh 52-week high after it was reported that the additions to non-performing assets would be lower this year.
India's cabinet has taken significant decisions on the country's banking sector. The Union Cabinet approved a new framework for dealing with Rs 6 trillion worth of NPAs in the banking system. Their resolution will enable the liquidation of bad loans and ensure that credit starts flowing through the Indian economy again.
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In the meanwhile, steel stocks finished higher after the Union Cabinet also gave its approval to the National Steel Policy 2017. The policy aims to achieve 300 million tonne of steel-making capacity which will require an additional investment of Rs 10 trillion by 2030-31.
The Cabinet has approved the policy for providing preference to domestically manufactured iron and steel products on government procurement. Indian steel makers who import raw materials or intermediate products can claim the benefits of the domestic procurement provision if they add a minimum of 15% value to the product.
The National Steel Policy 2017 aims to make India self-sufficient in steel production. It projects crude steel capacity of 300 million tonnes (mt), production of 255mt and per capita consumption of 158kg of finished steel by 2030-31, as against the current consumption of 61kg.
But the bigger concern is weak consumption growth. The consumption data over the past few months clearly show that there are no takers for domestic steel. So, steel makers have been forced to export more, with overseas shipments up by 78% YoY in the fiscal till February.
We do not think the trend is sustainable in the steel industry. Unless domestic consumption picks up, steel producers may have to take price cuts to utilize their capacities.
Moving on to news from stocks in auto sector. As per an article in a leading financial daily, Fiat India Automobiles, an equally owned joint venture between Fiat and Tata Motors has signed fresh agreements with its Indian parent and Maruti Suzuki to supply 2.2 lakh diesel engines over a three-year period.
The deal with Maruti is to supply 1.5 lakh units of 1.3 litre diesel engine which powers its several popular models.
For Tata Motors, the deal is to supply 70,000 units of 2.0 litre Multijet engines for a new SUV which is being developed on the Land Rover platform, internally codenamed Q501.
The agreements underscore increasing collaborations among automotive companies to source components and technology, and share facilities and even products to reduce the risk from investing big money on their own. Globally, several rival automakers have taken equity stakes in each other, the reports noted.
Tata Motors share price & Maruti Suzuki share price ended down by 2.3% & 0.2% respectively.
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