Benchmarks trade in fine fettle in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made a positive start and are trading in fine fettle in early deals on Wednesday amid supportive global cues. Sentiments remained up-beat with traders reacting positively to the last day’s report of manufacturing PMI rising to 54.7 in December 2017 from 52.6 in November on the back of robust improvement in the health of the sector since December 2012. Some support also came with the Rajya Sabha unanimously passing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill that replaces an Ordinance that prevents unscrupulous persons from misusing or vitiating the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. Meanwhile, the government has notified lower 1 percent GST rates for manufacturers who have opted for composition scheme as well as easier norms for traders opting for it. The notification stipulates that manufacturers who have opted for composition scheme will now have to pay 1 percent Goods and Services Tax (GST) as against 2 percent earlier.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green after rally in technology companies’ boosted US stocks to record highs, while the Japanese markets remained closed. The US markets made a positive start of the New Year as traders are expressed optimism about the outlook for the markets and the economy going into the New Year.

Back home, telecom sector remained buzzing, as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has released a detailed set of regulations for interconnection pacts between operators and mandated a daily penalty of Rs 1 lakh per circle for non-compliance of these norms. In scrip specific developments, Indiabulls Housing Finance surged on raising Rs 1,000 crore from Yes Bank, while Reliance Industries (RIL) gained on commissioning world’s largest refinery off-gas cracker at Jamnagar.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33911.50, up by 99.24 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 33866.50 and 33970.61. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.62%, while Small cap index was up by 0.95%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.39%, Basic Materials up by 1.35%, Consumer Durables up by 1.22%, Telecom up by 0.97% and Realty was up by 0.80%, while there were no losers on the BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports up by 1.80%, ICICI Bank up by 1.58%, Reliance Industries up by 1.22%, Tata Steel up by 1.01% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.01%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 1.90%, ONGC down by 0.63%, Infosys down by 0.56%, Tata Motors down by 0.47% and Asian Paints down by 0.42% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Telecom regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has come up with new interconnection regulations and mandated service providers to enter into interconnection agreement on non-discriminatory basis within 30 days of receiving network connectivity request from another operator. The new interconnect rules will come into effect from February 01, 2018.

The TRAI issued the 'Telecom Interconnection Regulations 2018' that comprises rules for crafting network connectivity agreements, provisioning of such connectivity amongst operators at initial stages, augmentation of Points of Interconnect, applicable rates or charges, disconnection of ports, and financial disincentive on interconnection issues. The regulations will apply to all the service providers offering telecom services in India. The Telecom regulator has also outlined a framework for provisioning and augmenting of interconnectivity ports, laying down a step-by- step process for provisioning of such ports.

The rules issued follow a detailed consultation process by TRAI that started in October 2016 and included open house discussions and written comments by stakeholders. The latest norms assume significance as interconnectivity was the flashpoint between Reliance Jio and incumbent telecom operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, at the time when the newcomer launched its services in 2016. Interconnection usage charges or IUC means the charge payable by one service provider to one or more service providers for usage of the network elements for origination, transit or termination of the calls.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10486.70, up by 44.50 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 10460.55 and 10487.60. There were 41 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports up by 1.71%, Vedanta up by 1.57%, ICICI Bank up by 1.55%, HPCL up by 1.50% and Reliance Industries up by 1.43%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 2.09%, Infosys down by 0.61%, ONGC down by 0.58%, Asian Paints down by 0.56% and Tata Motors down by 0.46% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; KOSPI Index gained 7.28 points or 0.29% to 2,486.93, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 10.65 points or 0.6% to 1,793.35, Shanghai Composite surged 30.46 points or 0.91% to 3,378.79, Taiwan Weighted added 86.03 points or 0.8% to 10,796.76 and Hang Seng was up by 100.44 points or 0.33% to 30,615.75.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was down by 85.48 points or 1.35% to 6,253.76.