Benchmarks continue to trade jubilantly; Nifty above 9,750 mark

Gaining further strength, Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade jubilantly in early afternoon deals, with frontline gauges trading above their crucial 9,750 (Nifty) and 31,450 (Sensex) levels. Apart from blue chips, broader indices too equally participated in the rally with both mid cap and small cap indices trading up by 1.99% and 2.05%, respectively. The sentiments were on upbeat mood with a private report that the Indian economy is at the cusp of entering its strongest growth phase and a full blown bull market is yet to play out with the wide-based Nifty expected to touch 11,500 in 2018. Traders ignored the report stating that India's industrial production fell to four-year low of 0.1 per cent in June as manufacturers reduced inventories ahead of the GST rollout. Moreover, the strengthening rupee against the dollar too buoyed the trading sentiments. In scrip specific development, Hero MotoCorp was up by around two percent on plan to launch three new scooter models by next fiscal as part of strategy to enhance its leadership position as erstwhile partner Honda challenges its number one spot.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, following last week’s pullback, as senior U.S. officials over the weekend sought to play down risks of a military conflict with North Korea. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31468.12, up by 254.53 points or 0.82% after trading in a range of 31298.90 and 31501.29. There were 24 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.99%, while Small cap index was up by 2.05%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 4.22%, Metal up by 3.17%, Basic Materials up by 2.28%, Consumer Durables up by 2.18% and Power up by 1.81%, while IT down by 0.07% and TECK down by 0.04% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Cipla up by 5.12%, Tata Steel up by 3.33%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.66%, HDFC up by 2.23% and Maruti Suzuki up by 2.08%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.96%, Wipro down by 0.79%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.75%, Infosys down by 0.58% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.49% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid reports that there is still lack of clearness on the 5 percent goods and services tax (GST) levy on equipment required for generating solar power, Union power and renewable energy minister Piyush Goyal has reiterated that there is no question of ambiguity as the government is very clear on the issue. He also noted that it has been made very clear that 5 percent GST will be applicable on solar panel equipment.

The industry has claimed that though the government said GST would be applied to solar modules at a concessional rate of 5 percent, there is still no clarity on whether it will be extended to other equipment as well. The minister has said that the GST regime was introduced to bring in more clarity and transparency and avoids double taxation in the system. He also said “I think our stand is very clear in this.”

Goyal further said that the ambitious plan of increasing solar capacity to 100GW by 2022 and promoting solar energy products would boost small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). He also said that they have set a target of 40,000 MW of rooftop solar capacity by 2022 and SMEs can take active participation in this. Apart from this, the minister mentioned that there is scope in sectors like solar pumps, solar streetlights and energy-efficient systems among others. He also observed that India is moving from a job-seeking to job-creating economy.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9792.25, up by 81.45 points or 0.84% after trading in a range of 9752.10 and 9806.85. There were 38 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 5.37%, Vedanta up by 3.89%, Tata Steel up by 3.49%, Eicher Motors up by 3.10% and Hindalco up by 2.92%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 2.43%, Bosch down by 2.12%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.03%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.72% and Wipro down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 3.16 points or 0.18% to 1,770.12, KOSPI Index added 14.51 points or 0.63% to 2,334.22, Shanghai Composite rose 24.64 points or 0.77% to 3,233.18, Jakarta Composite was up by 24.71 points or 0.43% to 5,790.84 and Hang Seng surged 318.55 points or 1.18% to 27,202.06.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 decreased 192.64 points or 0.98% to 19,537.10 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 104.29 points or 1.01% to 10,225.28.