Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended the Wednesday’s session at their fresh record closing levels, as unabated foreign fund inflow and positive global cues enthused investor sentiment. Sensex and Nifty settled above psychologically crucial 41,050 and 12,100 levels, respectively. Markets made positive start and traded firm as traders took some encouragement with Union minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that India's service sector can help achieve the Central government's target of $5 trillion GDP. He said the service sector has the potential to be the largest job creators in the country and over the next five years it has the potential to contribute $3 trillion out of the $5 trillion GDP target set by the government. Some support also come with report that net investment of equity and debt reported by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) stayed bullish with net buying logged at Rs 4,677.75 crore from Indian equities.

However, key indices pared some of their initial gains in afternoon session, as market-men got anxious with a private report showed that Indian stocks are set to rise further over the coming year, but those gains will be limited as fiscal stimulus and easy monetary policy fail to reverse an economic slowdown. Traders also took note of Moody's Investors Service’s latest report stating that Indian states face difficulties in reducing deficits, constraining the country's ability to meet medium-term fiscal consolidation goals as economic growth slows. But, key indices regained traction in the last leg of trade to end higher, as optimism remained among traders with private report indicated that the Reserve Bank of India is expected to cut interest rates in its December bi-monthly monetary policy and again before July.

On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday, while European markets were trading in green, lifted by hopes that the ongoing negotiations between United States and China would yield a trade truce. Back home, infrastructure stocks remained in focus with rating agency Crisil’s report that states need to scale up investments to Rs 110 lakh crore over the next decade to achieve India's massive infrastructure targets. Steel stocks also remained in focus, as Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that crude steel production capacity has increased by over 32 million tonnes during the last five years and it is being further expanded by 28 million tonnes per annum.

The BSE Sensex ended at 41052.24, up by 230.94 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 40848.70 and 41075.76. There were 25 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.91%, while Small cap index was up by 0.19%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.26%, Oil & Gas up by 1.18%, PSU up by 1.17%, Basic Materials up by 1.05% and Metal up by 0.97%, while Capital Goods down by 0.93%, Realty down by 0.58%, Telecom down by 0.32%, Industrials down by 0.17% and Power down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 7.73%, SBI up by 2.89%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.39%, Sun Pharma up by 2.24% and ONGC up by 1.92%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.83%, ICICI Bank down by 1.04%, ITC down by 0.88%, NTPC down by 0.73% and Tata Steel down by 0.71% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over growth of India’s economy, the minister of Railways, Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has said the country’s service sector can help achieve the Central government’s target of $5 trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He said the service sector has the potential to be the largest job creators in the country and over the next five years it has the potential to contribute $3 trillion out of the $5 trillion GDP target set by the government.

He further said it is the manufacturing and services industry that will be the growth engines of the Indian economy. He highlighted that these two sectors need to work together, as without services, manufacturing cannot succeed and without manufacturing, services cannot grow.

The minister also said India needs to move beyond Business Process Outsourcing and work towards adopting new age technologies such as artificial intelligence, block chain, machine learning and engage with the rest of the world on equal terms.

The CNX Nifty ended at 12112.20, up by 74.50 points or 0.62% after trading in a range of 12055.15 and 12114.90. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 8.31%, Ultratech Cement up by 3.09%, SBI up by 2.86%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.44% and Hindalco up by 2.19%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 3.25%, Cipla down by 2.20%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.69%, ITC down by 0.94% and ICICI Bank down by 0.73% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 34.33 points or 0.46% to 7,437.47, France’s CAC rose 15.95 points or 0.27% to 5,945.57 and Germany’s DAX was up by 66.69 points or 0.5% to 13,303.11.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday on growing expectations the United States and China are nearing an agreement to scale back their bruising trade war. US President Donald Trump declared Tuesday that talk with China on the first phase of a trade deal were near completion after negotiators from both sides spoke by phone, signaling progress on an accord in the works for nearly two years. Though, Chinese shares ended lower after the data showed profits at China's industrial firms declined in annual terms for the third consecutive month in October. China's industrial profits decreased 9.9 percent in October year-on-year to 427.56 billion yuan ($60.74 billion), marking the biggest drop since January-February period and compared with a 5.3 percent decline in September.