Sensex trades with traction; IT stocks jump

Going from strength to strength, the benchmark BSE Sensex gathered further ground and hit fresh intraday high in afternoon trade, on sustained buying by funds and retail investors. On the other hand, trade at NSE shut due to a technical glitch, with the exchange having to halt trade in its futures and options segment as well. Sentiments got boost with reports that foreign investors have pumped in nearly $ 23 billion into the Indian capital markets in January-June 2017 on several factors, including expectations of accelerated pace of reforms. Some encouragement also came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, noting that the GST (Goods and Services Tax), which was implemented last week, was the biggest tax reform in the last 70 years has said it would help businesses and create a unified market of 1.3 billion people. Modi also underlined support for free and open trade regime of World Trade Organization (WTO). In scrip specific development, Asian Granito India was trading in green after launching its new product range ‘Rainbow Glitz’ Decorative Wall tiles in size of 300x900 mm, 300x600 mm, Polished Porcelain Tiles 600x600mm and Elevation Tiles 300x450mm, with all new Digital Technology and High-End Finishing.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, following a rally on Wall Street on Friday on the back of forecast-busting US jobs data cheered investors. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31625.23, up by 264.60 points or 0.84% after trading in a range of 31471.41 and 31629.49. There were 28 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.49%, while Small cap index was up by 0.47%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.85%, TECK up by 1.74%, Telecom up by 1.46%, PSU up by 1.35% and Healthcare up by 1.13%, while FMCG down by 0.16% was the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 3.63%, Lupin up by 2.60%, ONGC up by 2.35%, Sun Pharma up by 2.33% and Tata Motors up by 2.32%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.11%, ITC down by 0.66% and Tata Steel down by 0.51% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to boost cruise tourism industry, the Shipping Ministry has urged the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council to exempt cruise tourism under the new indirect tax regime, in line with major cruising nations. It has noted that main cruising countries like UK, USA and Germany have zero rate domestic cruises. Therefore, it said that India should also have zero rating for cruise tourism as it is in nascent stage in the country and such steps will provide it a much-needed fillip.

Also, the Ministry in its proposal has mentioned that transportation of passengers (with or without belongings) by inland waterways is not a taxable service under the Finance Act, 1994 and the same rule should be applied to cruise ships operating domestically or internationally. It pointed out that cruise tourism industry is highly labour intensive, and given its strong backward linkages, it will impact the economy positively. According to the Ministry, cruise tourism can be India's economic growth engine as well as a game changer as there is a vast untapped potential.

In order to make India a global hotspot for cruise tourism, a policy is likely this month as steps are underway to expand number of cruise vessels to 700 from about 70 at present. For promoting the sector, an action plan is also on the anvil that will include key steps to bring it on par with international standards. Moreover, a slew of measures are already been taken to boost infrastructure that include building cruise terminals at five major ports-Mumbai, Goa, New Mangalore, Chennai and Cochin. Among other measures, the government has allowed cruise ships to stay for 3 days, up from the earlier 24 hours, and rules have been simplified to attract more vessels.

The Asian markets were trading mixed; KOSPI Index increased 2.23 points or 0.09% to 2,382.10, Nikkei 225 added 151.89 points or 0.76% to 20,080.98 and Hang Seng rose 195.84 points or 0.77% to 25,536.69. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite decreased 13.66 points or 0.23% to 5,801.14, Taiwan Weighted was down by 7.34 points or 0.07% to 10,289.91 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI dipped 3.65 points or 0.21% to 1,756.28.