Markets trade with traction aided by realty and consumer durables

Going from strength to strength, on back of sustained buying activities by both funds and retail investors, local equity markets have added further ground. Sentiments remained up-beat with report that Donald Trump and Narendra Modi have discussed opportunities to strengthen the partnership between the United States and India in broad areas such as the economy and defense. The domestic sentiment was also buoyed due a firm trend in Asian market as U.S. President Donald Trump shifted his focus back to growth initiatives. However, there was some cautiousness too with India Ratings, a unit of Fitch, in its latest report stating that most Indian companies with overseas debt have not hedged enough of their foreign currency risk, making them vulnerable to any sharp movements in the rupee. In scrip specific development, Cosmo Films was trading in green after launching several additions to its range of barrier films.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green, following strength in Wall Street and higher crude oil prices overnight. Investors also were optimistic that clarity on U.S. President Donald Trump's economic policies will be forthcoming. Besides, better-than-expected Japanese trade data also boosted investor optimism. Government data showed Japan's exports rose 5.4 percent in December from a year earlier, posting the first gain in 15 months, reflecting a pick-up in global demand and effects of a weaker yen.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27534.65, up by 159.07 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 27439.68 and 27542.89. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.47%, while Small cap index added 0.80%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.77%, Consumer Durables up by 1.69%, Capital Goods up by 1.35%, Bankex up by 0.84% and Metal up by 0.65%, while there were no losing indices on BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 2.76%, Axis Bank up by 2.27%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.92%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.35% and Tata Steel up by 1.28%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.69%, Wipro down by 0.59%, Reliance Industries down by 0.48%, Power Grid down by 0.32% and Cipla down by 0.25% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to provide some relief to foreign investors, the Central Board of Direct Taxes has said that income arising from transfer of unlisted shares would not be taxed in the case of certain categories of Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) registered with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The tax department has also said that such exemption would be applicable for SEBI registered Category I and II AIFs only.

Category-I AIFs are funds that receive incentives from the government, SEBI or other regulators and this include Venture Capital Funds, SME Funds, Social Venture Funds and Infrastructure Funds. On the other hand, Category-II entities can put in their money anywhere in any combination but are prohibited from raising debt, excepting for meeting their day-to-day operational requirements. Primarily, SEBI registered Category I and II AIFs invest in unlisted shares of ventures, many of which are new set ups or start ups. Therefore, to protect the interest of investors, some form of control and management of the underlying business many be essential to be exercised by such AIFs.

Meanwhile, Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (IVCA) Chairman Gopal Srinivasan has said that before the upcoming budget the investor community welcomes this clarification. He also said that great cooperation between the industry and government to pursue the goals of ease of doing business and manage in India.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8529.25, up by 53.45 points or 0.63% after trading in a range of 8493.95 and 8530.60. There were 35 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Zee Entertainment up by 3.11%, HDFC up by 2.81%, Axis Bank up by 2.50%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.99% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.89%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.67%, Idea Cellular down by 1.65%, Wipro down by 0.73%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.69% and Power Grid down by 0.37% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets were trading in green; KOSPI Index increased 1.18 points or 0.06% to 2,066.94, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI added 2.44 points or 0.15% to 1,683.13, Jakarta Composite rose 6.33 points or 0.12% to 5,298.42, Shanghai Composite gained 6.57 points or 0.21% to 3,149.12, Taiwan Weighted was up by 23.9 points or 0.25% to 9,447.95, Hang Seng jumped 71.53 points or 0.31% to 23,021.39 and Nikkei 225 edged higher 269.51 points or 1.43% to 19,057.50.