Indian benchmarks recover from day's low; Nifty reclaims 8200 mark

Recovering from day’s low, Indian benchmark indices were now trading firmly in green, with gains of over quarter of a percent, which took Sensex above the psychological 26,650 level and Nifty above the crucial 8,200 mark. Sentiments got some support after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley expressed hope that Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be implemented in 2017 and a digitised economy will be future of India. He also said that the last year was a very successful year for India as the country continued to remain the fastest economy in the world. He further added that Indian economy will continue to be one of the fastest growing economies in 2017 as well.  Meanwhile, the GST Council will meet Commerce and Industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman and representatives of IT, telecom, heavy industry, road transport, banking and insurance sectors today to assess the implementation hurdles under the new goods and services tax regime. Representatives of civil aviation and railway sectors will make a presentation at the two-day meeting of the GST Council, comprising Union finance minister, minister of state for revenue, and state representatives mainly finance ministers. However, gains in local markets remained capped with report that global private equity players pulled out a record $10.3 billion of their investments in 2016 from domestic markets. Adding pessimism among investors, India's core sector growth slowed to 4.9 percent in November from 6.6 percent in the previous month as crude oil and natural gas production declined. Though, it dodged the demonetization effect on the back of better show in coal, steel and electricity generation. On the Sectoral front, sugar stocks gained traction on report from domestic rating agency ICRA that Sugar prices are expected to remain firm in the near term due to tight stock position following 9% decline in production and steady growth in consumption. Shares of logistics companies edged higher ahead of the GST Council meet today.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher on Tuesday, with economic sentiment upbeat after better-than-expected manufacturing data from China. The Caixin manufacturing PMI for December came in at 51.9, well above the expected 50.7 and a jump from 50.9 in November. Moreover, crude oil prices rose in Asian trades. Though, geopolitical tension was stoked over by a tweet from US President-elect Donald Trump warning North Korea on testing an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Back home, stocks from Consumer Durables, Oil & Gas and PSU counters were supporting the markets’ uptrend, while those from IT and Teck counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, SML Isuzu gained after the company reported 16.4% jump in December sales. Furthermore, Suven Life Sciences jumped after the company received two product patents, one from Eurasia and one from Norway corresponding to the New Chemical Entities (NCEs) for the treatment of disorders associated with Neurodegenerative diseases and these Patents are valid through 2032 and 2025 respectively.

The market breadth remained optimistic as there were 1751 shares on the gaining side against 622 shares on the losing side, while 97 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 26684.99, up by 89.54 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 26488.37 and 26689.79. 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 0.64%, while Small cap index up by 0.99%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 2.78%, Oil & Gas up by 1.77%, PSU up by 1.54%, Power up by 1.21% and FMCG up by 1.09%, while IT down by 0.58%, TECK down by 0.50% and Auto down by 0.04% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 2.48%, Axis Bank up by 1.86%, ITC up by 1.78%, ICICI Bank up by 1.11% and Sun Pharma up by 1.02%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.51%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.85%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.56%, Wipro down by 0.52% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.48% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has expressed hope that Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be implemented in 2017 and a digitised economy will be future of India. He also said that the last year was a very successful year for India as the country continued to remain the fastest economy in the world. He also expressed optimism that Indian economy will continue to be one of the fastest growing economies in 2017 as well.

Jaitley in his New Year message to the nation also said that the long-awaited GST, once implemented, would turn Asia's third-largest economy into a single market for the first time, broaden the tax base and make life simpler for businesses that now pay a host of federal and state levies. Citing that the activity of demonetisation was completed in a peaceful manner and well supported by citizens, Jaitley said that a large amount of money, including black money, has come back into the banking system and it will increase banks' ability to lend more. He added that they are now keeping the inflation under control and consequently they have seen interest rates coming down.

The finance minister also asserted that the process of 'remonetisation' has progressed extremely well and it is certain that in the days to come it will be completed. Jaitley's statement came a day after Prime Minister Modi announced major tax rebates for farmers, small traders, senior citizens and women. He also urged the nation's banking system to work for the poor and the marginalised and complimented the people for joining and supporting the government's cleansing drive against corruption and black money.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8208.75, up by 29.25 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 8148.60 and 8211.00. There were 31 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BHEL up by 2.86%, Power Grid up by 2.40%, BPCL up by 2.22%, Yes Bank up by 2.07% and ITC up by 1.85%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.55%, Idea Cellular down by 1.07%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.01%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.00% and Bharti Infratel down by 0.73% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted rose 0.21%, KOSPI Index increased 0.64%, Shanghai Composite jumped 0.79% and Hang Seng was up by 0.74%. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite decreased 0.61% and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was down by 0.59%.