Indian equities extend gains; Sensex above 39,200 mark

Indian equity benchmarks extended their gains in morning session, with Sensex and Nifty gaining above 100 and 25 points, respectively. Indices like Realty and Healthcare inched higher. Traders took encouragement from Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyals’ statement that the government will not allow foreign companies to operate in multi-brand segment and necessary action will be taken against people indulging in predatory pricing. Traders also took note of a private report that India's benchmark 10-year bond yields dropped to their lowest in 20 months after the US Federal Reserve signalled possible interest rate cuts later this year, while buying from state-run banks also aided. Besides, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) rejected the claims of former CEA Arvind Subramanian regarding over-estimation of GDP growth after 2011, saying his analysis ignores data on services and agriculture and shows blind trust in a private firm CMIE.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green after the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged overnight but opened the door to rate cuts on the horizon. Back home, a report stated that operational creditors account for nearly half of the bankruptcy cases admitted at the NCLTs and the haircuts in resolutions taken by them are at par with the same taken by financial creditors

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39220.02, up by 107.28 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 38933.78 and 39235.19. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.35%, while Small cap index was up by 0.01%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.25%, Realty up by 1.04%, Consumer Durables up by 0.80%, Healthcare up by 0.72% and Energy was up by 0.58%, while IT down by 0.71%, Basic Materials down by 0.55%, TECK down by 0.51%, FMCG down by 0.32% and Metal was down by 0.18% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 3.00%, IndusInd Bank up by 2.61%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.62%, Sun Pharma up by 1.61% and Bajaj Auto was up by 1.29%. On the flip side, TCS down by 0.97%, Vedanta down by 0.77%, Axis Bank down by 0.68%, Tata Steel down by 0.51% and ITC was down by 0.45% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to promote electric vehicles (EVs) in India, the government has decided to waive registration charges for electric vehicles. The move comes at a time when the country plans high penetration of such vehicles by 2030. Issuing the draft notification to amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), 1989, the road transport and highways ministry said battery-operated vehicles shall be exempted from the payment of fees for the purpose of issue or renewal of registration certificate and assignment of new registration mark. The exemption will apply to all category of vehicles, including two-wheelers.

The ministry has issued the draft notification for amendments in CMVR where the amendments in Rule 81 are proposed for such waiver. The amendments will be done in exercise of the powers conferred on the central government under various sections of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

The said draft rules shall be taken into consideration after the expiry of a period of 30 days from the date on which the copies of this notification as published in the Gazette of India, are made available to the public. The objections or suggestions that may be received from any person with respect to the said draft rules before the expiry of the aforesaid period will be considered by the central government.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11716.95, up by 25.50 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 11635.05 and 11725.45. There were 29 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indiabulls Housing up by 5.09%, Yes Bank up by 3.34%, IndusInd Bank up by 2.67%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.88% and Sun Pharma was up by 1.68%. On the flip side, UPL down by 6.87%, Wipro down by 2.47%, Britannia down by 1.87%, Zee Entertainment down by 1.87% and Tech Mahindra was down by 1.68% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Hang Seng increased 252.74 points or 0.9% to 28,454.88, Nikkei 225 surged 120.20 points or 0.56% to 21,454.07, Shanghai Composite gained 75.19 points or 2.58% to 2,992.99, Straits Times advanced 25.97 points or 0.79% to 3,314.14 and KOSPI rose 5.06 points or 0.24% to 2,129.84. On the other side, Taiwan Weighted dropped 1.46 points or 0.01% to 10,773.88 and Jakarta Composite lost 7.82 points or 0.12% to 6,331.44.