Markets trade jubilantly in early deals; Nifty reclaims 10,300 mark

Buoyed by firm global cues, Indian equity benchmarks made a gap-up opening and are trading jubilantly in early deals with Sensex and Nifty recapturing their crucial 33,400 and 10,300 mark, respectively. Sentiments remained up-beat with statement of the prime minister’s economic advisory panel member Rathin Roy who has expressed hope that the forthcoming budget will not be a 'populist' and will reflect the commitment of the government to improve quality of expenditure. Traders also took some encouragement with CII’s Business Confidence Index climbing to 59.7 during October-December 2017, against 58.3 in the previous quarter, as reform measures such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) instilled optimism in India Inc.

Global cues remained supportive with Asian counters rallying at this point of time after the US government averted a shutdown and tax reform negotiations made progress. Japanese market was leading the gainers as the yen fell to its lowest in a month. The US markets surged in the last session, lifting the Dow and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs, following the release of a report from the Labor Department showing stronger than expected job growth in the month of November.

Back home, the Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi has said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council would examine the possibility of merging the 12 and 18 percent tax rates to a new slab. He added that more than 90 percent of issues related to tax rates have been resolved after the Council brought down 178 items from higher rates to lower one. In scrip specific developments, IL&FS Engineering edged higher on bagging Pipeline Laying contract Rs 215.79 crore, while UltraTech Cement remained on buyers’ radar on receiving nod to set-up 3.5 MTPA integrated cement plant.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33438.33, up by 188.03 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 33313.17 and 33450.31. There were 23 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index, while 2 stocks remained unchanged.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.48%, while Small cap index was up by 0.82%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.05%, FMCG up by 0.94%, Healthcare up by 0.83%, Consumer Discretionary Goods & Services up by 0.76% and Auto was up by 0.73%, while there were no losers on the BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 1.95%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.74%, Wipro up by 1.62%, SBI up by 1.58% and Lupin up by 1.55%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.38%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.36%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.36%, Infosys down by 0.33% and Adani Ports down by 0.22% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, showing improvement in perception regarding overall economic conditions amidst indications of a normalisation in business situation after the recent interruptions like Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII’s) Business Confidence Index has climbed to 59.7 during October-December 2017, against 58.3 in the previous quarter. As per the CII’s quarterly Business Outlook Survey, Indian companies are optimistic that the country’s economic growth will gain traction during the third quarter of fiscal year 2017-18 and the government's interference is having a ground impact.

The survey, which is based on responses from large, medium and small companies, covering all regions of the country, showed that the improvement in business confidence strengthens the hope that improvement in macro data is sustainable. According to the survey report, the significant improvement in the index this quarter has been led by a sharp improvement in the Expectation Index, as compared to the Current Situation Index, as firms appeared particularly upbeat about the expectations in their sectors.

As per the quarterly Business Outlook Survey, business conditions are expected to improve as over 63 percent of the firms anticipated an increase in sales in October-December 2017, compared with only 44 percent who experienced the same in the previous quarter. The report said a majority of the firms expected no change in their investment plans, with around 50 percent expecting to maintain status quo in their domestic investment plans. On the international front, too, 59 percent firms expected to keep their investment plans unchanged. Besides on the concerns, the firms rated low domestic demand, followed by high commodity prices as the major threats.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10318.90, up by 53.25 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 10296.40 and 10322.40. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Aurobindo Pharma up by 2.04%, Eicher Motors up by 1.96%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.82%, Wipro up by 1.75% and ITC up by 1.58%. On the flip side, Adani Ports down by 0.65%, NTPC down by 0.47%, Hindalco down by 0.44%, Indiabulls Housing down by 0.41% and Bajaj Auto down by 0.34% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.31 points or 0.02% to 1,721.56, KOSPI Index gained 5.37 points or 0.22% to 2,469.37, Jakarta Composite jumped 6.6 points or 0.11% to 6,037.56, Shanghai Composite increased 13.23 points or 0.4% to 3,303.22, Nikkei 225 added 86.15 points or 0.38% to 22,897.23, Taiwan Weighted surged 101.58 points or 0.98% to 10,500.20 and Hang Seng was up by 144.52 points or 0.5% to 28,784.37.