Benchmarks magnify gains in late morning deals; Nifty regains 7,900 mark

Extending their initial gains, Indian equity benchmarks are trading jubilantly in late morning deals with Sensex and Nifty recapturing their crucial 26,100 and 7,900 levels. Sentiments remained up-beat 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. Fresh buying in rate sensitive stocks ahead of the RBI monetary policy due on December 1, 2015 too supported the up-move. Meanwhile, further stimulus from the European Central Bank (ECB) has boosted the sentiment at the D-street.

On the sectoral front, metal, banking and capital goods witnessed the maximum gain in trade, while consumer durables, fast moving consumer goods and healthcare remained the top 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 1411 shares on the gaining side against 729 shares on the losing side while 191 shares remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 26116.14, up by 157.51 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 25937.32 and 26122.81. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.70%, while Small cap index up by 0.71%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.62%, Bankex up by 1.55%, Capital Goods up by 1.52%, Realty up by 1.11% and PSU up by 0.95%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.76%, FMCG down by 0.16%, Healthcare, down by 0.17% and Oil & Gas down by 0.04%, were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Vedanta up by 3.21%, Hindalco up by 2.86%, Tata Steel up by 2.68%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.07% and Tata Motors up by 2.01%. On the flip side, GAIL India down by 1.17%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 1.15%, Lupin down by 1.09%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.82% and Bajaj Auto down by 0.52% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to promote electrification of automobile transportation to achieve objectives laid in the National Mission for Electric Mobility (NMEM), Government of India has flagged off the FAME-India scheme, offering incentives on hybrid and electric vehicles. This move will help to save Rs 60,000 crore annually on the country’s oil import bill by 2020.

Union Minister for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises Anant Geete said that the government will spend about Rs 800 crore in the first two years for the scheme. Overall, Rs 14,000 crore is needed to make the scheme succeed, however it will save fuel worth Rs 60,000 crore. The minister added that the government intends to gradually convert 2, 3, 4-wheelers as well as commercial vehicles and buses to hybrid and electric vehicles.

FAME-India is short for Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles in India and part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan. India's crude oil import bill is likely to drop by 35 per cent to $73 billion this fiscal. In the previous fiscal 2014-15, India had imported 189.43 million tonnes of crude oil for Rs 6.87 lakh crore. For the current fiscal, the imports are projected at 188.23 million tonnes, almost the same level as last year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7935.65, up by 51.85 points or 0.66% after trading in a range of 7879.45 and 7938.90. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were PNB up by 3.72%, Bank of Baroda up by 3.62%, Vedanta up by 3.38%, Hindalco up by 2.86% and Tata Steel up by 2.72%. On the flip side, Idea Cellular down by 1.77%, GAIL India down by 1.31%, Lupin down by 1.11%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.86% and BPCL down by 0.84% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 263.14 points or 1.17% to 22,225.80, Taiwan Weighted decreased 70.98 points or 0.84% to 8,413.92, Shanghai Composite tumbled 69.66 points or 1.92% to 3,565.89, Nikkei 225 dropped 67.81 points or 0.34% to 19,876.60, Jakarta Composite shed 16.16 points or 0.35% to 4,580.90 and KOSPI Index was down by 0.96 points or 0.05% to 2,029.72. On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up by 0.38 points or 0.02% to 1,683.47.