Markets scale fresh peaks in late afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks scaled fresh highs in late afternoon session buoyed by strong Asian markets and strengthening currency. The Indian rupee hit over 20-month high against the US dollar and was trading at 64.08, 19 paise stronger from its previous close of 64.27 on Tuesday. Sentiments remained optimistic with India Manufacturing Barometer (IMB) Survey, a joint survey conducted by FICCI and PwC Strategy, stating that despite some bold but disruptive policy reforms like demonetization along with global uncertainty, India continues to be one of the fastest growing economies globally. The survey pointed that Indian companies are optimistic about the prospects of the Indian economy more than the global economy; about 63 per cent of the surveyed respondents expect that growth will be in the range of 7-8 per cent. Some support also came with the report that Niti Aayog released a draft three year action agenda for public consultation, which suggests a host of reforms with the objective of accelerating economic growth and increasing employment opportunities. The agenda proposes to check tax evasion & expand tax base, to double the income of farmers by 2022, to bring down land prices to make housing affordable through increased supply of urban land, adoption of consumer-friendly measures such as provision of electricity to all households by 2022. Besides, investors got some relief with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement that the Central Government has no plan to impose any tax on agricultural income.

On the global front, European markets were trading mixed as investors focused on earnings, monetary policy and a tax announcement in the U.S. However, Asian markets were trading in green. Back home, in scrip specific development, Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) traded higher after the company launched a new facility in Raipur, India. Situated in a prime business location in the city, the 19,000 sq. ft. center has a capacity of 480 seats and currently has 890 employees. The new center is expected to grow to a headcount of 1,200 employees by end of 2017.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 30147.17, up by 203.93 points or 0.68% after trading in a range of 30004.28 and 30165.77. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.20%, while Small cap index was up by 0.02%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 2.05%, Auto up by 1.17%, Metal up by 1.04%, Bankex up by 0.84% and Basic Materials up by 0.80%, while IT down by 0.91%, Energy down by 0.86%, TECK down by 0.67%, Oil & Gas down by 0.62% and Realty down by 0.46% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 3.95%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.79%, HDFC up by 2.04%, Tata Motors up by 1.75% and GAIL India up by 1.55%. On the flip side, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 3.17%, Infosys down by 1.59%, Power Grid down by 1.49%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.99% and Reliance Industries down by 0.91% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India Manufacturing Barometer (IMB) Survey, a joint survey conducted by FICCI and PwC Strategy has stated that despite some bold but disruptive policy reforms like demonetization along with global uncertainty, India continues to be one of the fastest growing economies globally. The survey pointed that Indian companies are optimistic about the prospects of the Indian economy more than the global economy; about 63 per cent of the surveyed respondents expect that growth will be in the range of 7-8 per cent.

As per survey, the manufacturing industry has shown resilience and is confident about its growth prospects amidst challenges such as unavailability of adequate raw material, pressure for increased wages and muted demand. Besides, companies are looking to increase their competitiveness by focusing on innovation by launching new product and service offerings, boosting R&D spend and investing in newer technologies. As much as 86 per cent of the survey respondent expects investments in Industry 4.0 related initiatives to increase in the next 3-5 years and 45 per cent respondents expects to benefit both from revenue growth and cost reduction or efficiency improvements.

The survey which covered companies in eight key sectors including automotive and auto components, cables and transformers, capital goods, cement, chemicals, downstream metals, packaging, and plastics and polymers, has found that Indian auto sector is expected to grow moderately with 6-8% growth in passenger vehicles, primarily driven by UVs, and 0-2% growth in commercial vehicles and the chemical industry grew only by 2.1% in 2016 due to low demand.

However, the survey also noted that 62 per cent respondents expressed uncertainty about the global economy, and it noted that the downstream metals industry is largely dominated by the steel industry and in recent years, the steel industry has been impacted by competition from cheaper imports.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9361.50, up by 54.90 points or 0.59% after trading in a range of 9301.35 and 9367.00. There were 30 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 3.48%, Hindalco up by 2.95%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.95%, HDFC up by 2.22% and Tata Motors up by 1.81%. On the flip side, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 3.55%, Bharti Infratel down by 2.00%, HCL Tech down by 1.98%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.81% and Infosys down by 1.63% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets were trading in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 2.21 points or 0.13% to 1,768.01, Jakarta Composite increased 5.47 points or 0.1% to 5,686.27, Shanghai Composite increased 6.28 points or 0.2% to 3,140.85, KOSPI Index increased 10.99 points or 0.5% to 2,207.84, Taiwan Weighted increased 14.74 points or 0.15% to 9,856.45, Hang Seng increased 122.49 points or 0.5% to 24,578.43 and Nikkei 225 increased 210.1 points or 1.1% to 19,289.43.

European markets were trading mixed; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 0.99 points or 0.01% to 7,276.63, France’s CAC increased 5.11 points or 0.1% to 5,282.99 and Germany’s DAX decreased 3.65 points or 0.03% to 12,463.39.