Benchmarks magnify gains; Sensex trades above 28600 mark

Extending their early gains, Indian equity markets continued to trade with strength in afternoon session on emergence of buying by funds and retail investors amid a firming trend in the Asian markets. Sentiment on the street improved with the DIPP Secretary Ramesh Abhishek’s statement that implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) is bound to be a “game changer” for India's manufacturing sector and will enhance ease of doing business in the country. Further, appreciation in Indian rupee too supported the sentiments. The rupee strengthened by 6 paise to 66.92 against the US dollar due to dollar selling by banks and exporters  as investors geared up for crucial meetings of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan. Traders were seen piling up positions in Metal, IT, PSU, Oil & Gas and TECK stocks, while selling was witnessed in Realty sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Bharti Airtel declined by half a percent as the spat between the telecom major and Reliance Jio over interconnect ports continued, while Cadila gained 1 percent after winning a lawsuit against Shire regarding Lialda patent infringement case.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green despite the modest losses on Wall Street Friday, as a rebound in the price of crude oil in Asian trades boosted risk appetite. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28687.07, up by 88.04 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 28552.55 and 28714.77. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.56%, while Small cap index was up by 0.58%.

The  top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.96%, IT up by 0.93%, PSU up by 0.86%, Oil & Gas up by 0.80% and TECK up by 0.78%, while Realty down by 0.12% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 2.11%, ICICI Bank up by 1.42%, ONGC up by 1.25%, Adani Ports &Special up by 1.20% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.18%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.24%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.01%, HDFC down by 0.60%, Axis Bank down by 0.55% and Sun Pharma Inds. down by 0.32% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government has given the approval for an ambitious $1.04 billion highway connectivity project which will help in constructing and developing almost 558 km of roads connecting with its neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. The main idea behind the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) road initiative is to improve ground connectivity in the region.

The highway project is part of the government's bigger plan to raise regional trade by 60 percent and ease the movement of passengers and cargo, by improving connectivity. The project will be funded by the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) and would be scheduled for completion within the next two years. It will cover the Indian states of West Bengal and Manipur.

The project will take up five highway stretches including an upgrade of the 122-km Siliguri-Mirik-Darjeeling ($15 million) and the widening of the 60-km National Highway-35 (Kolkata-Bangaon) on the border with Bangladesh ($130 million). It also includes a new 123-km road to connect with Diamond harbour, on the outskirts of Kolkata, at a cost of $250 million. This project originating from West Bengal will be handled by the state's Public Works Department for executing the project. Apart from this, two highways are scheduled to come up in Manipur, one for $138 kilometres for $280 million and another for 115 kilometres costing $230 million and will be handled by the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corp.

The agreement between sub-grouping of four South Asian nations including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal will pave the way for seamless movement of people and goods across their borders for the benefit and integration of the region and its economic development.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8816.00, up by 36.15 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 8774.20 and 8822.35. There were 37 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were TCS up by 2.31%, ONGC up by 1.68%, ICICI Bank up by 1.46%, Adani Ports &Special up by 1.44% and Indusind Bank up by 1.43%. On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 1.65%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.33%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.04%, Axis Bank down by 0.88% and Tata Motors - DVR down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 0.41 points or 0.02% to 1,653.40, KOSPI Index was up by 16.42 points or 0.82% to 2,015.78, Shanghai Composite rose 17.59 points or 0.59% to 3,020.44, Jakarta Composite increased 42.94 points or 0.82% to 5,310.71, Hang Seng was up by 205.53 points or 0.88% to 23,541.12 and Taiwan Weighted increased 250.58 points or 2.81% to 9,152.88.