Markets continue their rally in late morning session

Continuing their record run, Indian equity benchmarks were trading near their fresh all-time highs in late morning session on the back of better-than-expected corporate earnings. A firm trend overseas, as the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and gave a tepid outlook on inflation, too aided investors’ sentiments. The indices advanced in line with higher Asian markets, as traders remained optimistic with the report that retirement fund body the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation plans to pump in Rs 22,500 crore in exchange traded funds in 2017-18 following approval from the central board of trustees to increase the equity investment from 10 per cent to 15 per cent. Besides, Icra’s latest report stating that hike in foreign institutional investors (FII) investment limits in corporate debt will aid growth of bond markets, also contributed to the rally.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green, supported by strong corporate earnings and the Federal Reserve's decision to pause its slow-moving campaign to raise interest rates. Back home, in scrip specific development, Tata Motors traded higher after the company launched a range of commercial vehicles in the Philippines to expand presence in the South East Asian nation. The range includes Tata Prima Range of tractor trailers and tippers, the LPT range of light, medium and heavy trucks, SFC 407, and the mini trucks range of Ace and Super Ace.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 32653.25, up by 270.79 points or 0.84% after trading in a range of 32492.01 and 32662.41. There were 27 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.61%, while Small cap index was up by 0.32%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.37%, Bankex up by 1.18%, Auto up by 0.76%, Utilities up by 0.74% and IT up by 0.72%, while Telecom down by 0.74% and Consumer Durables down by 0.04% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 3.74%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.28%, SBI up by 1.23%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.13% and HDFC Bank up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.65%, Cipla down by 0.74%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.34% and Adani Ports & SEZ down by 0.10% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in a bid to develop India’s infrastructure, improve economic growth and community well being, the Global Infrastructure Hub (GI Hub) in its report titled 'Global Infrastructure Outlook' has said that the country will need investments to the tune of around $4.5 trillion by 2040. It also noted that this will make India the second largest infrastructure market after China.

The report has stated that the significant demand for infrastructure investment in India over the next 25 years is likely to be driven by increasing income levels and economic prosperity. It also noted that if the sustainable development goals (SDGs) are to be accounted, the country is projected to require an additional $888 billion by 2030 to provide universal household access to electricity and water. In absolute terms, it explained that the total investment needed to meet the SDGs is greatest in India, a total of $1.3 trillion of investment is needed by 2030, more than China, which is $ 257 billion.

As per the report, the cost of providing infrastructure to support global economic growth and for closing the infrastructure gaps is forecast to reach $94 trillion by 2040, with a further $3.5 trillion needed to meet the UN SDGs of access to drinking water and electricity by 2030, bringing the total to $ 97 trillion.  The firm, which conducted an intensive study of 50 countries and seven industry sectors, also found out that by 2040, the global population will grow by 25% touching almost 2 billion people. Adding further, it said that rural to urban migration continues with the urban population growing by 46%, triggering massive demand for infrastructure support.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10105.25, up by 84.60 points or 0.84% after trading in a range of 10054.95 and 10106.80. There were 41 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 4.48%, HDFC up by 3.70%, HCL Tech up by 2.29%, Eicher Motors up by 1.89% and Indusind Bank up by 1.69%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.74%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.00%, Cipla down by 0.79%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.27% and NTPC down by 0.21% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets were trading in green; Shanghai Composite increased 0.75 points or 0.02% to 3,248.42, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 4.59 points or 0.26% to 1,770.59, KOSPI Index increased 6 points or 0.25% to 2,440.51, Jakarta Composite increased 19.95 points or 0.34% to 5,820.16, Taiwan Weighted increased 89.26 points or 0.86% to 10,508.37, Nikkei 225 increased 100.06 points or 0.5% to 20,150.22 and Hang Seng increased 153.43 points or 0.57% to 27,094.45.