Markets hover near day’s high; Sensex gains 240 points

Key Indian benchmarks continued their gaining momentum in late morning session and were hovering near the intraday high, aided by optimism in all the sectoral indices. Traders were taking encouragement with Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor YV Reddy’s statement that amid uncertainties in the global economic order, a sense of optimism about the future is more in India than in other parts of the world. Separately, International Energy Agency (IEA), in its World Energy Outlook Report, has stated that India is among bright spots in the global economy and is emerging as a major driving force in global energy trends, with all modern fuels and technologies playing a part. Some support also came with report that investments in the Indian capital market through participatory notes (P-notes) climbed to Rs 1.31 lakh crore at October-end after hitting an over eight- year low in the preceding month. Besides, in line with the larger peers, the broader indices were also trading jubilantly with gains of around a per cent each.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, as investors were cautious on fears of violence in the Middle East following US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and on worries over a potential US government shutdown. Back home, in scrip specific development, DLF gained on selling housing properties worth Rs 300 crore in Gurgaon in November.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 32837.95, up by 240.77 points or 0.74% after trading in a range of 32598.12 and 32856.09. There were 29 stocks advancing against 1 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.06%, while Small cap index was up by 0.99%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.75%, Capital Goods up by 1.49%, Consumer Durables up by 1.45%, Auto up by 1.44% and Power up by 1.42%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 2.31%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.17%, Tata Steel up by 2.04%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.81% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.76%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 0.16% was the lone loser.

Meanwhile, International Energy Agency (IEA), in its World Energy Outlook Report, has stated that India is among bright spots in the global economy and is emerging as a major driving force in global energy trends, with all modern fuels and technologies playing a part. Besides, Tim Gould, Head of Division, World Energy Outlook, IEA has noted that the IEA attaches highest importance to its relations with India and they were very pleased to welcome India into the IEA family earlier this year when it recently joined as an association member.

Tim Gould has indicated that with India, the IEA’s growing family now accounts for about 70 percent of the world’s total energy consumption, compared with less than 40 percent just two years ago. He also mentioned that showing significant growth, India has provided electricity access to half a billion people since 2000, almost doubling the country's electrification rate. He also noted that the pace has accelerated in the recent years, with an additional 40 million people gaining access every year since 2011.

Further, P K Pujari, former secretary in the Ministry of Power has said that the global energy scenario is highly dynamic and changing rapidly, with new cost-effective technologies. He also stated that these provide an option for addressing the issues of access to energy by millions in a sustainable way. He added that what is required is appropriate and responsive policy-framework by the government concerned.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10119.80, up by 75.70 points or 0.75% after trading in a range of 10061.90 and 10128.35. There were 47 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were GAIL India up by 4.26%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.58%, Bosch up by 2.32%, Eicher Motors up by 2.28% and Aurobindo Pharma up by 2.24%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 0.09%, Coal India down by 0.04% and Reliance Industries down by 0.03% were the few losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 2.47 points or 0.14% to 1,720.80, Hang Seng increased 163.52 points or 0.58% to 28,388.32 and Nikkei 225 increased 318.57 points or 1.44% to 22,495.61.

On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted decreased 38.16 points or 0.37% to 10,355.76, Jakarta Composite decreased 15.04 points or 0.25% to 6,020.47, Shanghai Composite decreased 10.55 points or 0.32% to 3,283.41 and KOSPI Index decreased 9.78 points or 0.4% to 2,464.59.