Sensex, Nifty remain bullish

Key Indian barometers remained bullish in late afternoon session, tracking firm European markets.  Optimism remained among the investors, with a report that the central government so far transferred Rs 5,215 crore to over 2.6 crore small and marginal farmers under the PM-Kisan scheme announced in the last month's interim budget. Domestic sentiments were also positive with Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg exuding confidence that fiscal deficit target of 3.4 per cent for 2018-19 would be met as shortfall in indirect tax collection would be compensated by lower expenditure. The market participants paid no heed towards the latest data report on public debt which showed that total liabilities of the government increased to Rs 83.40 lakh crore at the end of the December 2018 quarter from Rs 82.03 lakh crore in the previous quarter of the current fiscal.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, as France's manufacturing output grew for a second straight month in January at the fastest pace in three months, defying expectations for a decline. The preliminary data from the statistical office INSEE showed that manufacturing output grew 1 percent month-on-month in January, while the street was looking for a 0.2 percent fall. Asian markets were also trading in green.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37048.10, up by 376.67 points or 1.03% after trading in a range of 36726.39 and 37048.68. There were 28 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.82%, while Small cap index was up by 1.55%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 4.19%, Power up by 2.96%, Metal up by 2.62%, PSU up by 2.54% and Oil & Gas up by 2.51%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 5.44%, Power Grid up by 4.36%, Coal India up by 4.05%, NTPC up by 3.45% and Vedanta up by 3.25%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 0.68%, HCL Tech down by 0.53% and TCS down by 0.37% were the few losers.

Meanwhile, underlining some key achievements of the government, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the government has brought sustainable changes instead of temporary adjustments.

The minister noted that the government took the fruits of progress to under-developed parts of the country, further highlighting that the country has become perhaps the fastest growing economy in the world from a fragile economy.

Goyal also mentioned about the efforts taken by the country in food security and rural electrification and said that today, the nation produces more food than it can consume. He said that electricity shortages have become history now.

Besides, Railways Minister said that the government has also focused on self-sustenance, noting that ‘We did not allow a single power plant to come up based on imported coal’ and added that the government believes in spending unrestricted money for research and development.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11160.35, up by 124.95 points or 1.13% after trading in a range of 11059.85 and 11169.45. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 5.70%, HPCL up by 5.42%, BPCL up by 4.79%, Power Grid up by 4.36% and Bharti Infratel up by 4.01%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 0.79%, HCL Tech down by 0.55%, TCS down by 0.43%, Zee Entertainment down by 0.37% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.35% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted gained 8.53 points or 0.08% to 10,250.28, Hang Seng increased 274.88 points or 0.97% to 28,503.30, Shanghai Composite gained 45.14 points or 1.52% to 3,015.00, Nikkei 225 surged 99.53 points or 0.47% to 21,125.09 and KOSPI was up by 0.66 points or 0.03% to 2,138.10. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 3.55 points or 0.11% to 3,192.32 and Jakarta Composite was down by 14.13 points or 0.22% to 6,368.94.

All European markets are trading in green; FTSE gained 49.44 points or 0.70% to 7,153.75, CAC added 4.59 points or 0.09% to 5,235.81 and DAX was up by 23.96 points or 0.21% to 11,481.80.