Jubilation continues on Dalal Street in noon deals

Indian markets continue to trade jubilantly with a gain of over half a percent in afternoon deals. The benchmarks after making a start on a positive note has been strengthening gradually with no sign of any profit taking till yet and Nifty once again hitting the crucial psychological mark of 7,900. Sentiments remained up-beat with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement that structural reforms including GST, rationalising direct taxes and ease of doing business are among top priorities for New Year. Moreover traders overlooked industry body Ficci’s statement that the revival prospects for India’s manufacturing sector in the October-December quarter seems to be weakening mainly due to a sluggish exports scenario. Based on expectations in different sectors, Ficci in its latest survey pointed out that ten out of twelve sectors were likely to witness low to moderate growth.

On the global front, Asian equity indices were trading mostly in red at this point of time amid a lack of immediate directional cues in light year-end trade, although Japanese shares managed to rise following a rebound in crude oil prices from multiple-year lows. Back home, stocks related to oil and gas counter remained buzzing, as the  Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramaniam has said that even after GST, petrol and other petroleum products would continue to be taxed the way now both by the Centre and states. There was broad based buying witnessed in the markets and apart from the blue chips, the broader markets too participated strongly in the rally. The market breadth on the BSE was positive; there were 1551 shares on the gaining side against 895 shares on the losing side while 208 shares remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 25981.92, up by 143.21 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 25856.86 and 25991.08. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.31%, while Small cap index up by 0.56%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.93%, Auto up by 0.88%, IT up by 0.85%, Power up by 0.75% and Oil & Gas up by 0.64%, while Telecom down by 0.74%, Metal down by 0.69% and Basic Material down by 0.21% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 2.48%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 2.16%, Tata Motors up by 2.16%, ICICI Bank up by 2.04% and Lupin up by 1.53%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 2.87%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.89%, HDFC down by 0.53%, HDFC Bank down by 0.49% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.45% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) disagreeing with the government's claim that there is 'no crisis' on the outward shipments front, has lowered India’s export outlook to $255- 260 billion for the financial year 2015-16. Earlier in September this year the industry body had forecast the country's exports to be around $265-268 billion.

Assocham further said that 'There is no point shying away from the crisis, if it is there. The answer lies in recognising the problem without sweeping it under the carpet and then finding a way out. After all, nobody in India or elsewhere, for that matter can be blamed for the global crash in demand.' It further added that it would also not be correct to take consolation in the fact that the exports have fallen marginally in rupee terms as India's balance of payments is calculated along with the current account deficit in dollar terms and exports have a major contribution. Therefore, one cannot take comfort in currency depreciation.

Earlier, the government facing flak for 12 straight months of decline in exports, had said there is 'no crisis' in India on the export front and there is 'no need for alarm'. However, Assocham said the sector is in real crisis which goes well beyond petroleum products, gems and jewellery to highly job-oriented leather and leather products and has engulfed the entire agriculture exports witnessing sharp falls.

Contraction in exports continued for the 12th month in a row in November as outward shipments shrank 24.43 per cent to $20.01 billion amid a global demand slowdown. Cumulative value of exports during April-November 2015-16 stood at $174.30 billion as against $213.77 billion in the same period last year, down 18.46 per cent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7903.35, up by 42.30 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 7863.00 and 7907.45. There were 38 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddys Lab up by 2.57%, Tata Motors up by 2.30%, Tata Power up by 2.26%, NTPC up by 2.15% and ICICI Bank up by 1.92%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 2.66%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.77%, Idea Cellular down by 0.85%, Vedanta down by 0.65% and HDFC down by 0.60% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 234.74 points or 1.06% to 21,903.39, Shanghai Composite declined 76.95 points or 2.12% to 3,550.96, KOSPI Index dropped 26.59 points or 1.34% to 1,964.06 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 4.79 points or 0.06% to 8,358.49. On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 9.96 points or 0.6% to 1,673.47, Jakarta Composite rose 32.57 points or 0.72% to 4,555.22 and Nikkei 225 was up by 104.29 points or 0.56% to 18,873.35.