Sensex, Nifty at day’s high

Indian benchmarks extended northward rally in late afternoon session, with Sensex gaining nearly 200 points, despite weak cues from European markets. FMCG index gained the most on BSE, followed by Telecom and Basic Materials, while the broader markets too rallying with notable gains in late noon deals. Besides, the major industry gainers such as ITC, Maruti Suzuki and Bharti Airtel were aiding markets rally. The street remained buoyed with industry chamber CII’s statement that the decision of the GST Council to cut rates and simplification of return filing process will increase the compliance rate and add to revenue buoyancy. Some support also came with the steel ministry’s statement that India’s steel exports to America are very low and hence the import tariff hike by the US will not pose any immediate threat to the domestic industry. On the sectoral front, auto stocks remained in focus, amid data from SIAM and CMIE showed that the combined net profit of top 23 four-wheeler automobile manufacturers in India stood at Rs 9,966.3 crore in 2016-17, which was just 2.79% of their total gross turnover.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, as concerns over trade tensions returned to the forefront, with G-20 finance ministers and central bankers warning about increased risks to global economic growth. On the economic front, British households' finance outlook turned positive for the first time since March 2016, while their financial pressures softened in July. The survey by IHS Markit and financial information provider Ipsos Mori revealed that the seasonally adjusted Household Finance Index rose to 44.6 from 43.6 in June. Asian markets were showing mixed, as Trump talked of more tariffs on China and continued his attack on the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates, saying tightening penalizes the US for doing well. Back home, in scrip specific development, Maruti Suzuki India surged after the company crossed production of 20 million vehicles in India at its Gurugram and Manesar facilities.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36683.38, up by 187.01 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 36491.83 and 36703.59. There were 22 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.08%, while Small cap index was up by 0.78%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 2.29%, Telecom up by 2.25%, Basic Materials up by 1.48%, Realty up by 1.47% and Consumer Durables up by 1.41%, while Energy down by 0.38% and IT down by 0.36% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 3.77%, Maruti Suzuki up by 3.76%, Bharti Airtel up by 3.30%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 3.24% and ICICI Bank up by 3.10%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 5.79%, Bajaj Auto down by 4.97%, Wipro down by 2.91%, HDFC Bank down by 1.23% and ONGC down by 1.11% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Indian Ports Association (IPA) in its latest report has showed that thermal coal imports rose by 19.32% at India's top 12 major ports during the first quarter of current financial year. As per the report, the thermal coal handling was at 28.28 million tonnes (MT) during April-June 2018 as against 23.70 million tonnes handled in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

The report also found an increase of 6.85% in coking and other coal handling at 13.03 MT during the first three months of the current fiscal, while the major 12 ports together recorded a growth of 3.91% in cargo handling. The major ports together handled 174.02 MT of cargo during Q1 FY19, as against 167.48 MT handled during Q1 FY18.

According to IPA’s data report, nine ports such as Kolkata (including Haldia), Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Kamarajar, Chennai, Cochin, New Mangalore, JNPT and Deendayal (Kandla) Port had registered positive growth in traffic during April- June 2018. Meanwhile, India’s 12 major ports handle around 61% of the country's total cargo traffic.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11070.15, up by 59.95 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 11010.95 and 11071.25. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were UPL up by 14.41%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.92%, ITC up by 3.58%, Maruti Suzuki up by 3.52% and Bharti Airtel up by 3.40%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 6.18%, Bajaj Auto down by 5.04%, Wipro down by 2.79%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.31% and Grasim Industries down by 1.81% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted increased 14.78 points or 0.14% to 10,946.89, Hang Seng surged 31.64 points or 0.11% to 28,256.12, Shanghai Composite gained 30.25 points or 1.06% to 2,859.52 and Jakarta Composite rose 39.72 points or 0.67% to 5,912.50. On the flip side, KOSPI decreased 19.88 points or 0.88% to 2,269.31, Straits Times fell 6.51 points or 0.2% to 3,291.32 and Nikkei 225 was down by 300.89 points or 1.34% to 22,396.99.

All European markets were trading in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 28.74 points or 0.38% to 7,650.05, France’s CAC lost 20.96 points or 0.39% to 5,377.36 and Germany’s DAX was down by 16.89 points or 0.13% to 12,544.53.