Benchmarks continue to trade near intraday highs; Sensex surpasses 27,800 mark

Gradually adding ground, local barometer gauges have soared to day’s high point as investors opted to cover their short positions in view of the monthly expiry in the derivatives segment amid positive global cues. Sentiments remained up-beat after news reports suggested that the Union Cabinet has approved amendments to the GST bill to compensate states for revenue loss for five years on introduction of the uniform nationwide indirect tax regime, as has been suggested by Rajya Sabha Select Committee. Some support also came with a statement of World Bank official that India has the potential to become a multi-trillion dollar economy with a per capita income of about $40,000 by 2050 if it manages to grow at seven percent annually for the next 30-35 years.

On the global front, European counters have made a positive start and were trading in green in early deals with a gain of over half a percent. Asian markets were trading mixed at this point of time, with Japanese Nikkei surging over a percent on better-than-estimated company earnings. Back home, on the sectoral front, realty, fast moving consumer goods and power witnessed the maximum gain in trade, while metal and consumer durables remained the only losers on the BSE sectoral space. The broader indices too were trading in line with benchmarks, while the market breadth on the BSE was positive; there were 1737 shares on the gaining side against 777 shares on the losing side while 96 shares remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27817.29, up by 253.86 points or 0.92% after trading in a range of 27649.97 and 27854.46. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.30%, while Small cap index up by 0.99%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 3.27%, FMCG up by 1.61%, Power up by 1.53%, INFRA up by 1.14% and Auto up by 1.14%, while Metal down by 0.14% and Consumer Durables down by 0.05% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Cipla up by 4.07%, Hindustan Unilever up by 3.05%, HDFC up by 2.82%, NTPC up by 2.44% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.75%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 1.68%, Vedanta down by 0.84%, Tata Steel down by 0.40%, TCS down by 0.32% and Coal India down by 0.13% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, There is likely to be some cheer among the policy makers, with a top World Bank official stating that India has the potential to become a multi-trillion dollar economy with a per capita income of about $ 40,000 by 2050 as against the current $ 2,000, but to achieve that it will have to grow at seven percent annually for the next 30-35 years.

Subhash Chandra Garg the World Bank Executive Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka has said that “If we can manage to grow at seven percent for next 35 years, we will not only be the second largest economy in the world at that time but we will be prosperous and people will be rich enough.” Though, he cautioned that achieving and sustaining a seven percent growth rate for 35 years is “very difficult” and “would require a lot of transformation in the way we manage our economy”. He also said that a 'big challenge' will be to get people out of agriculture and use them in the manufacturing and services sectors, while also ensuring that agricultural production in the country increases.

He added that about 55 percent of India's population is already working in the services sector but the country has to aim to bring this to 80-85 percent of the population and noted that there is need to transform the young Indian population into extremely productive. Garg noted that the World Bank is working very closely with the Indian government and contributing to making its vision of a strong and prosperous nation a reality.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8450.30, up by 75.25 points or 0.90% after trading in a range of 8408.90 and 8458.90. There were 42 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bank of Baroda up by 6.01%, PNB up by 4.00%, Cipla up by 3.82%, Hindustan Unilever up by 3.40% and HDFC up by 2.80%. On the flip side, NMDC down by 2.11%, Sun Pharma down by 1.75%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.90%, Vedanta down by 0.69% and Tata Steel down by 0.38% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 5.75 points or 0.34% to 1,704.74, Jakarta Composite rose 11.91 points or 0.25% to 4,733.03, Taiwan Weighted surged 88.01 points or 1.03% to 8,651.49 and Nikkei 225 was up by 219.92 points or 1.08% to 20,522.83.

On the flip side, Straits Times decreased 30.44 points or 0.93% to 3,253.56, Shanghai Composite shed 28.34 points or 0.75% to 3,760.82, Hang Seng slipped 27.87 points or 0.11% to 24,591.58 and KOSPI Index was down by 18.59 points or 0.91% to 2,019.03.

European Markets were trading in the green; Germany’s DAX gained 0.79%, France’s CAC rose 0.70% and UK’s FTSE was up by 0.68%.