Markets to get a positive start on penultimate session of F&O expiry

The Indian markets surged in last session on good global cues and after the government introduced four bills on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the lower house of parliament, paving the way for its implementation from July 1. Today, the start of the penultimate session of the F&O series expiry is likely to be in green and some upmove can be seen in early deals, however trade may turn volatile latter in the day owing to series expiry next day. Traders will be eyeing the parliament proceedings too, where the government has listed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bills for discussion and passage in the Lok Sabha today. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley terming the GST bill revolutionary hoped all the political parties would pass the related bills through consensus in the current session of Parliament. Meanwhile, the government will borrow from markets about Rs 3.72 lakh crore in the first half of next fiscal beginning April, which is 64 percent of the borrowing target for full financial year. The Centre would also issue treasury bills worth Rs 26,000 crore in the first half of the fiscal. There will be some buzz in the steel sector stocks on report that in the last nine months, steel exports from India increased 77 per cent to 6.62 mt while imports fell by 65 per cent to 6.59 mt, turning India a net exporter.

The US markets bounced back in last session, with the Dow snapping an eight-session losing streak, following the release of a report from the Conference Board showing an unexpected improvement in consumer confidence in the month of March. The Asian markets have made a mixed start with some indices trading marginally in red, though other markets are up on rekindled optimism in the strength of the US economy after rise in consumer confidence.

Back home, it turned out to be a stable day for the Indian benchmark indices, which climbed well over half a percent point and managed to end above the crucial support levels. Investors remained optimistic on hopes that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be implemented on time. The government introduced the supporting legislation for the GST in Parliament on Monday, reinforcing expectations that it would make the July 1 deadline for the roll-out of this singular tax reform. According to Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, GST will not only usher in a transparent tax system thereby reducing cascading of taxes, but will also result in reduction of prices for consumers and broaden the tax base in the country. Investors got further confidence with the report that manufacturing activity improved in March after a three months of decline, while various government measures are likely to push up activity in the infrastructure sector going forward. The yearly SBI Composite Index, one of leading indicator for manufacturing activity in the Indian economy, bounced back to above 50-mark level to 50.3 after 3-months of decline. The report also noted that going by the findings, index of industrial production (IIP) growth may continue to be in the positive territory in February and March, this year. However, gains remained capped with the report that India will face a below normal rainfall during the June to September south-west monsoon season. About 70% of India's rainfall happens in this period and irrigates almost half of India's farmland, being of particular importance for Kharif crops. Finally, the BSE Sensex surged 172.37 points or 0.59% to 29409.52, while the CNX Nifty was up by 55.60 points or 0.61% to 9,100.80.