Markets manage to hold in green supported by metals

Indian markets once after dipping in red in the very early trade are holding modest gains in second hour of trade, though the global cues remained cautious, traders were getting some support with IMF report that India’s growth is expected to rebound to 7.2 per cent in the 2017-18 fiscal and 7.7 per cent in 2018-19 after disruptions caused by demonetization. Also, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has expressed his hopes of a smooth transition to the GST regime and has said that it will help domestic firms to become more competitive apart from streamlining the taxation for all business activities. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the quarterly filing of returns under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was not workable for taxpayers above Rs 50 lakh turnover. Only small taxpayers, whose turnover is below Rs 50 lakh per annum under the composition scheme, can avail of filing quarterly returns. But these will not be able to avail of input tax credit. Back on street, some bluechips like Tata motors, Reliance Industries along with some realty stocks were keeping the markets in green, while the banking pack has completely given up the early euphoria. The broader markets were though in a slightly better position, while on the sectoral front it was the metal index that has taken the lead, closely followed by realty. On the other hand banking, telecom and healthcare were exerting some pressure, restricting any up-move.

In scrip specific development, SBI has given up all its gains and was trading in red; the largest PSU lender of India reduced its affordable home loan rates by up to 25 basis points for new borrowers.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 29932.96, up by 6.81 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 29912.24 and 30008.35. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.15%, while Small cap index added 0.41%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.42%, Basic Materials up by 0.69%, Industrials up by 0.63%, Realty up by 0.62%, Oil & Gas up by 0.51%, while Bankex down by 0.43%, Telecom down by 0.26%, Healthcare down by 0.26%, PSU down by 0.19%, Utilities down by 0.09% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.56%, Tata Motors up by 0.82%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.53%, Reliance Industries up by 0.50% and ITC up by 0.46%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.38%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.17%, Cipla down by 1.16%, Sun Pharma down by 0.96% and Power Grid Corporation down by 0.83% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in its latest report has said that Indian economy will grow 7.5 per cent next year by virtue of consumption revival and higher infrastructure spending. Though, India’s growth is projected stable at 7.1 percent for 2017 before surging to 7.5 percent next year, underpinned by higher private and public consumption and increased infrastructure spending.

The regional development arm of the United Nations, in its report further added that in the medium-term, India will also benefit from recent reforms measures aimed at de-clogging supply side bottlenecks. While, implementation of good and services tax (GST), amendment of a bankruptcy law and opening up of pharmaceuticals, defence and civil aviation sectors will help India in its economic growth.

The report talking about the demonetisation drive taken by government during November-December last calendar, said the impact would be transient on the economy. However, a slower-than-expected recovery would particularly diminish the outlook for cash-intensive sectors and supply chains for agricultural products. On the trends in the Asia-Pacific region, the UN ESCAP has found growth in the region moderating in recent years compared to its historical trend and a rebound in 2010.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9318.15, up by 4.10 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 9307.70 and 9338.95. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indian Oil Corp. up by 1.59%, Hindalco up by 1.41%, Tata Steel up by 1.33%, Bharti Infratel up by 1.30% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.21%. On the flip side, Bank of Baroda down by 1.83%, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 1.82%, Aurobindo Pharma down by 1.54%, ICICI Bank down by 1.30% and Yes Bank down by 1.18% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in red, barring Hang Seng which gained 89.29 points or 0.36% to 24,667.20.

On the other hand, Nikkei 225 was down by 23.57 points or 0.12% to 19,872.13, Taiwan Weighted declined by 17.97 points or 0.18% to 9,919.28, Jakarta Composite was down by 3.89 points or 0.07% to 5,703.97, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 2.03 points or 0.11% to 1,766.12 and Shanghai Composite was tad lower by 0.78 points or 0.03% to 3,077.83.