Benchmarks make positive opening after upbeat GDP data

After a flat closing in previous session, markets made a positive start and are now trading in fine fettle on the back of sustained buying by fund and retail investors. Sentiment got a boost after India’s economy grew by 7.4% in the second quarter (July-September), outpacing China to become the fastest growing major economy. Further, appreciation in Indian rupee against dollar too supported the markets. The rupee rose by 16 paise to 66.51 against the US dollar in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange due to increased selling of the American currency by exporters and banks. However, upside remained capped as Market participants are waiting for Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy review, slated to be released later today. On the sectoral front, all the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in green led by Metal, FMCG, Consumer Durables and Power.

In the scrip specific development, Tree House Education & Accessories moved higher by 10%, bouncing back 21% from its early morning low on the BSE after the company successfully received all amounts related to preschools and franchise operations that were outstanding as on 30th September 2015.

On the global front, the US stocks ended lower on Monday led by declines in health and consumer shares, as investors braced for policy news from central banks. Asian markets were trading mostly in green despite the weak cues overnight from Wall Street and official data showing that China's manufacturing activity contracted in November to a three-year low. Investors went bargain hunting as they looked ahead to crucial data due later in the week.

Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above the psychological 7,950 and 26,200 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1294: 480 while 82 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 26200.36, up by 54.69 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 26195.60 and 26246.02. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.60%, while Small cap index gained 0.62%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.92%, FMCG up by 0.65%, Consumer Durables up by 0.57%, Power up by 0.55% and PSU up by 0.54%, while there were no losers.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 2.80%, Vedanta up by 2.78%, Wipro up by 2.06%, Hindalco up by 2.01% and Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.47%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.26%, Tata Motors down by 0.48%, Infosys down by 0.37%, Reliance Industries down by 0.23% and Axis Bank down by 0.21% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to make Indian manufacturing more competitive, the government will provide all the support to private players. Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister Anant Geete  has said that the government is committed to provide all necessary support to make India`s manufacturing sector globally competitive, adding that a wide array of smart technologies needs to be adopted for the purpose.

Geete while addressing the Smart Manufacturing Summit organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said that `Make in India` campaign is the first step in this direction and also assured that going forward the results of many more steps taken by the government in various areas would be clearly visible.

Highlighting the steps taken by his ministry Geete said there are steps such as addressing the problems of central public sector enterprises, formulation of the 1st draft on National Capital Goods policy and encouragement of manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles to support the manufacturing growth agenda of the country.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7964.25, up by 29.00 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 7957.20 and 7972.05. There were 34 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 3.24%, Vedanta up by 3.11%, Hindalco up by 2.21%, Wipro up by 1.94% and Coal India up by 1.68%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.21%, Bank Of Baroda down by 0.89%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.55%, Yes Bank down by 0.48% and PNB down by 0.45% were the top losers

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 4.56 points or 0.27% to 1,676.72, KOSPI Index increased 32.46 points or 1.63% to 2,024.43, Jakarta Composite increased 79.16 points or 1.78% to 4,525.62, Taiwan Weighted increased 118.54 points or 1.42% to 8,439.15, Nikkei 225 increased 179.44 points or 0.91% to 19,926.91 and Hang Seng increased 362.63 points or 1.65% to 22,359.05. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite decreased 15.35 points or 0.45% to 3,430.06.