Markets at day’s high; Sensex above 33,600 mark

Adding some gains, the benchmark indices traded at intraday highs in late afternoon session, backed by firm opening in European markets. Expansion in India's headline services index along with continuous buying at Realty, Capital Goods and Industrials counters, maintained the positive mood in the markets. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei Services Business Activity Index surged to 51.7 in October from 50.7 in September, while the Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index which measures both manufacturing and services too rose to 51.3 in October from 51.1 in September. The more enthusiasm spread among the inventors after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that starting business in India is easier than ever before as procedures have been simplified, archaic laws repealed and compliance requirements reduced. Meanwhile, responsible or sustainable investment in India is at a niche stage as assets deployed under this strategy amount to nearly $31 billion, while globally it stood at a whopping $22.89 trillion.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, as investors monitored a fresh batch of corporate earnings. Asian markets were also trading in green. Back home, in scrip specific development, Himadri Speciality Chemical was trading in green after the company received an approval for capital expenditures of Rs 628 crore for the projects. The projects include capacity expansion for manufacturing of carbon black by 30,000 MTPA in West Bengal and setup of manufacturing facility of Advance carbon material (HSCP) with annual capacity of 20,000 MT in West Bengal.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33696.01, up by 122.79 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 33531.94 and 33701.74. There were 18 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.01%, while Small cap index was up by 0.65%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.87%, Capital Goods up by 0.79%, Industrials up by 0.74%, Realty up by 0.71% and Consumer Durables up by 0.61%, while Utilities down by 0.49%, Healthcare down by 0.49%, Power down by 0.21% and Oil & Gas down by 0.08% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 1.50%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.22%, Axis Bank up by 1.18%, SBI up by 1.16% and HDFC Bank up by 1.09%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 1.66%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.65%, Lupin down by 1.38%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.05% and Coal India down by 0.86% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India's headline services index expanded further in the month of October on the back of rise in output activity. Even as the input price pressures intensified, greater inflows of new business and increasing backlogs of work at service providers also helped the index to move upwards.

The seasonally adjusted Nikkei Services Business Activity Index surged to 51.7 in October from 50.7 in September, posting above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the second consecutive month. The Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index which measures both manufacturing and services too rose to 51.3 in October from 51.1 in September, signaling slight rate of expansion.

As per the survey report, firm raised staffing levels for the second consecutive month on account of increased capacity pressures, however the job creation rate slowed from the preceding month. The report further noted that the service providers exhibited optimism towards the coming 12-month outlook for activity, despite levels of business confidence dipping to the weakest since June.

On the inflation front, input cost inflation accelerated in October month, by rising at the joint-fastest pace since April 2016 whilst firms raised output charges.  At the sector level, the sharpest rise in input prices was noted in Consumer Services, followed by Real Estate & Business Services. In the manufacturing industry, purchase price inflation accelerated to the fastest pace since May and the companies raised their output prices to pass on higher input costs to clients.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10454.75, up by 30.95 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 10403.60 and 10461.70. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 2.35%, Yes Bank up by 1.97%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.77%, HDFC up by 1.57% and SBI up by 1.38%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 2.02%, BPCL down by 1.89%, Sun Pharma down by 1.87%, GAIL India down by 1.75% and Lupin down by 1.52% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 1.53 points or 0.09% to 1,742.58, Jakarta Composite increased 7.14 points or 0.12% to 6,038.25, KOSPI Index increased 11.61 points or 0.46% to 2,557.97, Taiwan Weighted increased 12.26 points or 0.11% to 10,800.77 and Hang Seng increased 84.97 points or 0.3% to 28,603.61. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite decreased 11.56 points or 0.34% to 3,371.74.

All European markets were trading in green; France’s CAC increased 0.55 points or 0.01% to 5,511.05, UK’s FTSE 100 rose 19.55 points or 0.26% to 7,574.87 and Germany’s DAX was up by 61.64 points or 0.46% to 13,502.57.