Bourses remain bullish; Sensex above 33,200 mark

Continuing gaining momentum, the local benchmarks maintained bullish trend in late afternoon session, supported by firm opening in European markets. Small cap index was outperforming the benchmarks, while Metal was the top gainer among sectoral indices with the gains of more than two percent. The market sentiments got boost with the private report stating that the Indian economy is expected to witness cyclical growth recovery, with real GDP growth likely to accelerate from 6.4 percent this year to 7.5 percent in 2018 and further to 7.7 percent in 2019. Traders were also taking support from the Finance Ministry’s statement that the provisions of the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017 (FRDI Bill), under consideration of a joint parliamentary committee, are aimed at protecting the interests of depositors and provides more protection to them compared to existing provisions. Separately, loan growth of banks hit a three-year high in November, boosting early signs of revival in demand after credit offtake had touched multi-year low in the past year.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, as global optimism boosted risk sentiment, although progress on the Brexit front supported demand for the pound, limiting gains for UK equities. Asian markets were also trading in green. Back home, in scrip specific development, Sonata Software was trading higher after the company’s wholly owned subsidiary-- Sonata Europe entered into an agreement with IZARA ApS. to acquire 15% stake in IZARA ApS, a Danish Company.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33257.48, up by 308.27 points or 0.94% after trading in a range of 33034.20 and 33285.68. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 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 0.87%, while Small cap index was up by 1.19%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.20%, Basic Materials up by 1.79%, FMCG up by 1.66%, Auto up by 1.23% and Healthcare up by 1.14%, while Utilities down by 0.11% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 2.46%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.31%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.22%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.20% and Tata Motors - DVR up by 2.10%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.91%, Reliance Industries down by 0.66%, NTPC down by 0.61%, SBI down by 0.60% and Asian Paints down by 0.49% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, predicting a long term growth rate of 10-12 percent CAGR for Indian auto component industry, credit rating agency, ICRA in its latest report has said in the current financial year, the industry is expected to grow by 9-11 per cent and noted that the domestic passenger vehicle (PV) and two-wheeler (2W) segments will be the main drivers for growth in FY18.

The report said that the auto components industry may will grow relatively higher than underlying automotive industry in the medium to long term on the back of technological advancement and regulatory measures. The rating agency also expects healthy growth in domestic original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) segment, especially in 2W and PV industry, during FY18.

The report further said that sub-segments like light commercial vehicles, motorcycles and tractors will benefit form expected recovery in rural income. Besides, the report found that most of the auto ancillaries have witnessed improvement in their revenue growth during Q2 FY2018, driven by higher realization in the backdrop of steady increase in commodity prices. Further, in view of rising prices of commodity, the agency noted that this is putting pressure on the profitability of companies and tyre manufacturers were the worst hit due to sharp volatility in rubber prices.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10267.05, up by 100.35 points or 0.99% after trading in a range of 10195.25 and 10267.70. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Vedanta up by 3.59%, HPCL up by 2.93%, Indian Oil Corporation up by 2.89%, Tata Steel up by 2.67% and Tata Motors up by 2.64%. On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 2.04%, GAIL India down by 1.45%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.99%, Reliance Industries down by 0.70% and NTPC down by 0.69% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 1.63 points or 0.09% to 1,720.68, KOSPI Index increased 2.02 points or 0.08% to 2,464.00, Shanghai Composite increased 17.94 points or 0.55% to 3,289.99, Jakarta Composite increased 27.48 points or 0.46% to 6,034.31, Taiwan Weighted increased 42.86 points or 0.41% to 10,398.62, Nikkei 225 increased 313.05 points or 1.39% to 22,811.08 and Hang Seng increased 336.66 points or 1.19% to 28,639.85.

All European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 4.24 points or 0.06% to 7,324.99, France’s CAC increased 34.03 points or 0.63% to 5,417.89 and Germany’s DAX increased 143.06 points or 1.1% to 13,188.21.