Asian shares are trading on a negative note today. The Nikkei 225 is down 0.7% while the Hang Seng is down 1% and the Shanghai Composite is trading down by 0.9%.
Back home, India share markets opened the day marginally higher. The BSE Sensex is trading up by 126 points (up 0.3%) while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 22 points (up 0.2%). Both, the BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index, have opened the day up by 0.3%.
Sectoral indices have opened the day on a mixed note with IT stocks, consumer durables stocks and capital goods stocks witnessing maximum buying interest.
The rupee is trading at 70.81 to the US dollar.
In the news from macroeconomic space, India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate for the first quarter of fiscal year 2018-19 rose to a more than two-year high of 8.2%.
This compares to the GDP growth rate of 7.7% in the last quarter and 5.59% seen in the first quarter of the previous financial year.
As per the government data, the Indian economy grew 8.2% in April-June this year amid signs that households are buying more and company are adding capacities and thereby shrugging off the effects of demonetization and the goods and services tax (GST).
India also kept its status as the world's fastest-growing major economy, ahead of China, which grew 6.7% in April-June 2018. At the current pace, India looks set to become the world's fifth largest economy, ahead of the United Kingdom (UK).
In a piece published earlier, we wrote to you about the Indian GDP and how it was on the upswing. And as the above data shows, the growth momentum has continued.
India's GDP Growth is Back on Track
We were in wait and watch mode but now, we believe, the revival in the economy is truly underway.
For example, capacity utilization is picking up. IIP and GDP numbers are improving. Indian corporates are getting back to their capex plans.
However, we must point out, the revival is not complete. It has been driven by government spending and private sector consumption. Capital investments and exports are yet to pick up. Only when these engines start firing will we achieve 9%+ growth.
In the news from IT sector, Wipro share price is witnessing buying interest today. Gains are seen as the company has signed its largest-ever contract, a US$ 1.6 billion deal, with Illinois-based Alight Solutions, giving a boost to chief executive Abidali Neemuchwala's over a two-year push to get more digital deals to drive growth.
Moving on, auto stocks will be in focus today as major automobile companies released their monthly sales figure for the month of August.
As per the data, Maruti Suzuki reported a decline in sales for the second consecutive month in August. This was seen as floods in Kerala adversely affected demand. The company's sales dropped 3.4% YoY in August. The monthly sales figure, which came out on Saturday, stood at 1,58,189 units as compared to 1,63,701 units in the same month last year.
On the other hand, Ashok Leyland posted a growth of 27% YoY (year-on-year) in its total sales for August. The company sold 17,386 units for the month against 13,637 units during the same month last year.
Mahindra & Mahindra reported a 14% YoY rise in its auto sales for August at 48,324 units against 42,207 during the same month last year.
Tata Motors saw a 27% YoY rise in its total sales for August at 58,262 units against 45,906 units during the same period of last year.
Hero MotoCorp reported a marginal 0.92% rise in total sales at 685,047 units in August as compared 678,797 units of motorcycles and scooters sold in August 2017.
Lastly, TVS Motors reported a jump of 8% in its total sales for the month of August at 3.43 lakh units against 3.17 lakh units it sold last year.
It will be interesting to see how equity market participants react to these numbers today. We will keep you posted on all the developments from this space.
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