Barometer gauges maintain gains as budget session begins in parliament

Key Indian benchmarks were trading fine fettle in the early noon session, with Sensex and Nifty gaining more than 117 and 36 points, respectively, as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman started delivering her Budget speech in the Parliament. The said budget will boost income and enhance purchasing power and focuses on structural growth of the economy. Sentiments remained upbeat from a report that GST collections have crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark for the third month in a row in January with improved compliance and plugging of evasion. Traders were also encouraged by report that growth of eight core industries recovered to 1.3% in December 2019 after remaining in the negative zone in the previous four months helped by expansion in production of coal, fertiliser and refinery products.

On the sectoral front, Chemical fertilizer stocks gained as government looking to change existing regime that promotes excessive use of chemical fertilisers. Education & Training stocks surged as government to source more ECB & FDI for education sector.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40840.79, up by 117.30 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 40444.48 and 40905.78. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.84%, while Small cap index was up by 0.63%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.44%, Auto up by 1.30%, FMCG up by 1.02%, Oil & Gas up by 0.94% and Basic Materials was up by 0.78%, while Power down by 0.42%, Consumer Durables down by 0.16%, IT down by 0.06%, TECK down by 0.05% and Bankex was down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 2.42%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.35%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.07%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.55% and Mahindra & Mahindra was up by 1.51%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 1.64%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.32%, Power Grid down by 0.99%, HCL Tech down by 0.87% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 0.74% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in its Business Confidence Survey has stated that India Inc is facing huge risks from delays in necessary structural reforms in the factor markets and lack of adequate credit availability to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It mentioned stagnancy in exports, delay in disbursement of subsides/incentives for exports, high transaction costs involved in trade and excessive dumping of goods, were some of the concerns cited on the external front. It highlighted that to overcome these risks, a majority of the participating companies are planning to reduce their costs of operations to ensure that their business grows in the year 2020. Around 62 per cent participating companies said that they will try to access new markets within the country as it will help them expand their business outreach.

The Overall Business Confidence Index improved to 59 in the current round as against an index value of 55 reported in the last survey. However, a majority of respondents continued to cite weak demand situation as a worrying factor for their business. In the current survey, 76 per cent participants reported weak demand conditions as a bothering factor as compared to 73 per cent stating the same in the previous round. Additionally, respondents highlighted the need for undertaking taxation reforms to remove anomalies in the tax regime. With regard to indirect taxes, companies felt that GST rates should be revisited and be further rationalised.

Meanwhile, it said that a need for urgent measures to enhance competitiveness of the Indian industry was also strongly felt. Creation of land banks, comprehensive labour market reforms that are in sync with the business needs of today, and easy availability of credit were some of the recommendations made by the participants. The survey results allude to a moderate outlook for investments. Around 37 per cent participants said that they foresee much higher investments over coming six months as against 38 per cent stating likewise in the last survey.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11997.75, up by 35.65 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 11880.65 and 12017.35. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 2.43%, GAIL India up by 2.37%, JSW Steel up by 2.19%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.14% and Hindustan Unilever was up by 1.98%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 1.73%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.49%, Power Grid down by 0.99%, HCL Tech down by 0.95% and ONGC was down by 0.78% were the top losers.