Benchmarks add gains; Nifty marches towards 9900 level

Local barometer gauges added gains and were trading firm to hover near the highest points of the day in the afternoon deals, on account of buying in front line blue chip counters supported by strong performance among global peers. The sentiments on the street got the encouragement with NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya’s statement that India’s GDP could rise to about $8 trillion over the next 15 years if the country registers an economic growth of 8 per cent annually and come very close to eliminating abject poverty entirely.  Some optimism also came with private report stating that India will reclaim its position as the fastest growing major global economy this year, partly propelled by benefits from a new tax system and bolstered by an expected central bank interest rate cut. Besides, encouraging earnings posted by some bluechip companies too influenced trading sentiments. In scrip specific development, Bajaj Finance was up by over two and half percent after receiving an approval for issue of securities for an aggregate amount of up to Rs 4,500 crore through a qualified institutions placement (QIP) to qualified institutional buyers (QIB).

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, reflecting optimism on China's economy, while the U.S. dollar remained weak amid doubts over President Donald Trump's ability to deliver tax reforms. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31909.09, up by 198.10 points or 0.62% after trading in a range of 31793.72 and 31909.85. There were 25 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.79%, while Small cap index was up by 1.02%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.27%, Realty up by 2.03%, Metal up by 1.64%, Healthcare up by 1.51% and FMCG up by 1.37%, while there were no losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 2.80%, ITC up by 2.23%, Coal India up by 1.73%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 1.57% and Power Grid up by 1.44%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.41%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.54%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.35%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.25% and ONGC down by 0.15% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Steel has expressed its anxiety that the manufacturing cost of steel will increase as electricity, being one of the major inputs for steel industry, has been kept outside of the India’s landmark taxation reform Goods & Services Tax (GST). It also said that a clean energy cess which was being charged on coal, lignite and peat production at the rate of Rs 400 per tonne pre GST remains effectively non-cenvatable in the GST regime.

Natural gas, one of the inputs used in manufacturing sponge iron/Hot Briquetted Iron, an intermediate product used in steel making, has been kept outside the purview of GST. Under the previous regime, a partial was available. However, in the new tax regime, the tax paid on the natural gas is a cost and no input tax credit is available on the same. The steel ministry is also of view that royalty is charged on iron ore at 15 percent of the base price and is yet not cenvatable.

Besides, Forest Development Fee (FDF) and similar charges such as contribution in District Mineral Foundation and National Mineral Exploration Trust, which are in the nature of tax, need to be subsumed in GST. Following the implementation of the GST, the steel industry had earlier said that the unorganised players in the sector will have to move to organised form of doing business. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9885.40, up by 58.25 points or 0.59% after trading in a range of 9851.65 and 9885.90. There were 36 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Aurobindo Pharma up by 5.31%, Zee Entertainment up by 3.32%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.95%, Hindalco up by 2.75% and ITC up by 2.25%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 2.48%, ACC down by 1.62%, Infosys down by 1.45%, Bharti Infratel down by 0.99% and Ambuja Cement down by 0.81% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 1.88 points or 0.11% to 1,756.80, KOSPI Index surged 3.9 points or 0.16% to 2,429.94, Nikkei 225 rose 20.95 points or 0.1% to 20,020.86, Taiwan Weighted was up by 24.84 points or 0.24% to 10,506.10, Shanghai Composite added 40.9 points or 1.28% to 3,228.47 and Hang Seng increased 129.8 points or 0.49% to 26,654.74.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was down by 15.49 points or 0.27% to 5,806.86.