Benchmarks extend gains; Nifty above 7550 mark

Extending their early gains, Indian equity markets continued to trade with vigor on the back of strong global cues and rise in crude oil prices. Sentiments got some support after Finance minister Arun Jaitley proposed fresh amendments to the Companies Act to do away with the restriction of routing funds through only two layers of investment companies as well as seeking government approval for managerial remuneration. Besides, a strengthening rupee which surged to trade at over two-month high of 66.55 against the dollar in early trade too buoyed the trading sentiments. Some support also came in from report that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 744.49 crore on March 16, 2016. However, market participants remained cautious with a private report which said that India's growth recovery continues to be uneven and last year's positive growth momentum has slowed down considerably.

On the global front, most of the Asian markets standing on the firm ground in early trade after the Federal Reserve's cautious stance on further rate increases prompted investors to rebuild their bets on riskier assets. Further, investors got some encouragement with the S&P 500 Index gaining 0.66 per cent overnight to close at its highest since December 31, led by the materials and energy sectors. However, Japanese shares bucked the trend as the dollar's fall against the yen is seen hurting the country's exporters, with the Nikkei shed over a percent.

Back home, all BSE sectoral indices were trading in the green. Among them, Consumer Durables index gained the most by 1.93 per cent, followed by IT 1.46 per cent, Metal 1.45 per cent and Realty 1.02 per cent. In scrip specific development, Shares of LT Foods have surged after the company has entered into an agreement to acquire the branded rice business of Hindustan Unilever (HUL). Furthermore, Dhanuka Agritech has rallied after the company has received a licence to manufacture insecticides.

The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2170 stocks traded, 1124 stocks advanced, while 929 stocks declined on the BSE.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 24805.52, up by 128.15 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 24681.64 and 24839.38. 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 0.14%, while Small cap index up by 0.25%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.93%, IT up by 1.46%, Metal up by 1.45%, TECK up by 1.28% and Realty up by 1.02%, while there were no losers on BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were GAIL India up by 2.80%, TCS up by 2.28%, Tata Steel up by 1.79%, Wipro up by 1.54% and Tata Motors up by 1.50%. On the flip side, Lupin down by 4.08%, Sun Pharma down by 2.31%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.92%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.91% and Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.77% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India has signed a social security agreement with Australia in which the employees of India deputed to Australia and vice versa will not have to make double social security contribution. The agreement marking another big step to enhance ease of doing business was notified by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in January and will be in effect from January 1, 2016.

EPFO in its order has stated that the agreement provides for detachment, totalisation and portability. Further the order specified that the employees of one country deputed by their employers to the other country on short-term assignment for a pre-determined period of up to 60 months need not remit social security contribution in that country. Henceforth the employers are saved from making double social security contributions for the same set of employees thereby enhancing competitiveness of their products and services. The employers who have already deputed or intend to depute their employees to Australia can avail themselves of this facility.

EPFO has been identified as the agency in order to implement the provisions of the agreement in India and has been authorized to issue 'certificate of coverage' to the employees of Indian establishments posted to Australia.

Following the agreement Australia has become the 14th country with which India has a social security agreement in force. The others in the list include Korea, Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungry, Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7554.00, up by 41.45 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 7517.90 and 7566.75. There were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Vedanta up by 4.23%, Hindalco up by 3.40%, ACC up by 2.70%, GAIL India up by 2.56% and TCS up by 2.27%. On the flip side, Lupin down by 4.36%, Sun Pharma down by 2.21%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.06%, BPCL down by 1.05% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.99% were the top losers.Asian markets were trading mostly in green, KOSPI Index was up by 0.15%, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI up by 0.25%, Jakarta Composite up by 0.04%, Taiwan Weighted up by 0.66%, Shanghai Composite up by 2.09% and Hang Seng was up by 0.82%. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was down by 1.52%.