Benchmarks start new series in style; Sensex regains 26,100 mark

Indian equity benchmarks started the December F&O series on optimistic note, with key gauges rallying over half a percentage point and breaking lots of psychological levels in their northward rally. Markets traded with traction for most part of the day’s trade despite some profit booking in noon deals as weakness in rupee weighed on the sentiments. Overall, traders remained hopeful that the crucial goods and services tax (GST) bill will be passed in the winter sessions of Parliament after Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to hold discussions on the GST bill.

The gains for the day came ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s policy review next week. The central bank is expected to hold its policy interest rate at 6.75% next week to stifle inflation, while data is seen showing economic growth accelerated to 7.3 % in the September quarter. Some support also came with the Urban Development ministry giving a nod for an investment of Rs 3,120 crore for enhancing water supply, sewerage network, non-motorised transportation system and availability of public spaces in 102 cities across five states, for boosting urban infrastructure under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).

On the global front, European counters were trading mixed in early deals with UK house-price growth slowing to a five-month low in November. The average price of a home rose 0.1 percent to 196,305 pounds, the slowest pace since June. Asian markets ended the session mostly in red, led by around five and a half percent fall in Chinese market as falling industrial profits and a deepening probe of the financial industry shook investor confidence in the world’s second-largest economy. China’s industrial profits declining for the fifth consecutive month slid 4.6 percent last month, compared with a 0.1 percent drop in September.

Back home, banking shares mainly public sector undertakings (PSU) remained on buyers’ radar after media reports that the government is planning to set up high-level panel to tackle non-performing assets (NPA). Metal shares witnessed some buying demand on rebound in copper prices which rose to Rs 9.90 to Rs 316.30 per kg in futures trade today as speculators widened positions. Some buzz was seen in the infra stocks too after the government approved an investment of Rs 3,120 crore for boosting urban infrastructure in 102 cities across five states, including enhancing water supply, sewerage network, non-motorised transportation system and availability of public spaces. Meanwhile, select logistic companies ended higher for a second straight day on the bourses on reports that the government on Thursday exuded confidence of having the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill passed, with several Opposition parties coming out in open support.

The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty rose by around sixty points and ended near the psychological 7,950 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex surged by around one hundred and seventy points to finish above the psychological 26,100 mark. Broader markets too were traded with traction throughout the trade and ended the session with a gain of around one third of a percent. The market breadth remained in favor of advances, as there were 1,391 shares on the gaining side against 1,251 shares on the losing side while 226 shares remain unchanged.

Finally, the BSE Sensex surged by 169.57 points or 0.65% to 26128.20, while the CNX Nifty soared by 58.90 points or 0.75% to 7942.70. 

The BSE Sensex touched a high and a low 26184.65 and 25937.32, respectively. The BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.46%, while Small cap index was up by 0.32%.   

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.86%, Capital Goods up by 1.53%, PSU up by 0.91%, IT up by 0.74% and Metal up by 0.73%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.38%, Oil & Gas down by 0.21% and Auto down by 0.13% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindalco up by 3.26%, SBI up by 2.80%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.23%, ICICI Bank up by 1.97% and Vedanta up by 1.72%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.32%, Lupin down by 1.24%, Reliance Industries down by 0.88%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.68% and Bajaj Auto down by 0.55% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the global air transportation body, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its latest release on the passenger’s growth forecast stated that India is likely to become the third largest aviation market in the world displacing the UK by 2026. Besides, the IATA expects India's air passenger traffic to grow to 378 million passengers by 2034.

Globally, the IATA projects that passenger numbers are expected to reach seven billion by2034 with a 3.8 percent average annual growth in demand, which is more than double the 3.3 billion corresponding figure for 2014 and, exactly twice as many as the 3.5 billion flyers expected this year.

In terms of additional passengers per year over the forecast period with 275 million new passengers among the total of 378 million flyers during the period, India will be among the five fastest-increasing markets, after China and the US.

Highlighting that a 'sizable gulf' has opened up between the performance of air passenger markets in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies, IATA said that both India and China are growing fast, with annual growth this year-to- date standing at 16.5 percent and 12.5 percent respectively. China is expected to overtake the US as the world's largest passenger market by 2029 as it will account for some 1.19 billion passengers, at that time.

The CNX Nifty touched a high and low 7959.30 and 7879.45 respectively. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Bank of Baroda up by 5.44%, Hindalco up by 3.53%, PNB up by 3.07% and SBI up by 2.93% and Bosch up by 2.46%. On the flip side, Idea Cellular down by 2.38%, Tata Motors down by 1.51%, Cairn India down by 0.98%, Reliance Industries down by 0.93% and Lupin down by 0.72% were the top losers.

European Markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC was up by 0.11% and Germany’s DAX was up by 0.22%, while UK’s FTSE was down by 0.21%.  

The Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday, led by late hour sell off in the Chinese market as brokerages tumbled after authorities launched probes for alleged violations of trading rules. Also, reports showed that profits earned by Chinese industrial companies fell 4.6 percent year on year in October, sparking fresh concerns about an economic hard landing. Japanese stocks too fell in thin trade, moving further away from the elusive 20,000 mark that has not been hit since mid-August. Data showed Japan's core consumer prices fell for the third straight month, underscoring the fragile nature of the economy. The core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes fresh foods, fell by 0.1 percent on-year last month as a result of sliding commodity prices. Poor economic data from China and regulators’ continued probes into China brokerages send Hong Kong stocks lower. Seoul shares ended lower amid lack of cues from Wall Street and rising tensions between Russia and Turkey.