Benchmarks continue to trade in green in late afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green in late afternoon session on the back of healthy buying in Power, IT and FMCG counters. There was also a rush to cover short positions ahead of the December expiry of derivatives which supported the upside. Traders are taking some support with Prime Minister’s meeting with economists and experts, to take stock of the economy and get feedback on ways to deal with the problem of cash crunch post demonetisation. Reportedly 4-5 sectoral groups have been set up to discuss new initiatives and Budget proposals.

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in green after upbeat U.S. economic data reinforced investor expectations for stronger economic growth under Trump presidency. Asian markets were trading in green as many regional markets resumed trading after the long holiday weekend. While a weaker yen, higher oil prices and upbeat U.S. consumer confidence and housing data lent some support, new regulatory measures unveiled in China to bring insurers under strict supervision served to limit the potential upside to some extent.

Back home, in scrip specific development, Super Crop Safe jumped higher on receiving consent and authorization from Gujrat Pollution Control Board, for operation of industrial plant to manufacture certain items / products by formulation only and RPP Infra Projects edged higher on bagging two orders worth Rs 54.20 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 26364.56, up by 151.12 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 26216.54 and 26415.05. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.24%, while Small cap index up by 1.56%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were TECK up by 1.17%, Power up by 1.09%, FMCG up by 1.08%, IT up by 1.03% and PSU up by 0.90%, while there were no losers on BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddys Lab up by 2.22%, Wipro up by 2.04%, Coal India up by 2.02%, Axis Bank up by 1.99% and Hindustan Unilever up by 1.71%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 0.73%, Reliance Industries down by 0.59%, Tata Motors down by 0.49%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.38% and GAIL India down by 0.04% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the government’s plan of advancing budget a month early will ensure speedier implementation of projects and make funds available for different sectors at start of fiscal year. While emphasizing about the budget cycle, PM said that the budget has a significant effect on India's real economy and in our existing budget calendar, the authorization of expenditure comes with the onset of the monsoon. This results in government programmes being relatively inactive in the productive pre-monsoon months. Keeping this in view, the date of budget presentation is being advanced, so that the government will able to complete the budgeting process before the start of the new financial year.

Breaking old tradition to form a more planned and regulated expenditure profile, the government is proposing to present the budget for 2017-18 on February 1 instead of the regular date of February 28. Also, there will be no separate railway budget for the next fiscal as the government has decided to merge it with the general budget.

Responding to the PM's call for suggestions for the Budget, economists have given their suggestions to a range of issues covering subjects such as agriculture, skill development, job creation, taxation and tariff related matters, education, digital technology, housing, tourism, banking, governance reform, data driven policy and future steps for growth.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8097.65, up by 64.80 points or 0.81% after trading in a range of 8033.25 and 8100.55. There were 45 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Infratel up by 3.77%, Indusind Bank up by 2.91%, Idea Cellular up by 2.57%, Zee Entertainment up by 2.52% and Dr. Reddys Lab up by 2.47%. On the flip side, Tata Motors - DVR down by 1.37%, Tata Motors down by 0.67%, Tata Steel down by 0.57%, Reliance Industries down by 0.54% and Hero MotoCorp down by 0.52% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 8.12 points or 0.5% to 1,627.80, Taiwan Weighted increased 92.13 points or 1.01% to 9,201.40, Jakarta Composite increased 103.71 points or 2.03% to 5,206.15 and Hang Seng increased 179.98 points or 0.83% to 21,754.74. On the flip side KOSPI Index decreased 17.68 points or 0.87% to 2,024.49, Shanghai Composite decreased 12.43 points or 0.4% to 3,102.24 and Nikkei 225 decreased 1.34 points or 0.01% to 19,401.72.

European Markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC increased 1.63 points or 0.03% to 4,849.91 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 8.55 points or 0.12% to 7,076.72. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX decreased 3.12 points or 0.03% to 11,469.12.