Markets settle the day flat ahead of Dec IIP data; TCS gains 2%

Benchmark indices settled the day flat even ahead of December factory output later today on hopes of reviving economy. The factory output grew by 5.7% in November even after the note ban announced by PM Narendra Modi.

Sentiment was also affected as Asian shares rallied to an 18-month peak on Friday, as investors cheered upbeat Chinese trade data.
 
Nifty 50 continued to hover around 8,800 levels, gaining for third consecutive week, led by TCS, Grasim, Tech Mahindra and Infosys.
 

The BSE Sensex index rose 0.4% this week while the NSE added 0.6% even after the RBI held rated for the second time and changed its stance to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Accomodative’

 
The S&P BSE Sensex settled the day at 28,334, up 4 points, while the broader Nifty50 ended at 8,793, up 15 points.
 
In the broader market, BSE Midcap fell 0.2% while BSE Smallcap added 0.1%.

"Despite positive momentum in global market after the Trump’s announcement on tax cut, domestic equity continued to oscillate in a narrow range. The market is looking fairly priced after having rallied by 7.5% YTD while earnings have cut post demonetisation, one year forward P/E stands at about 17x," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services in a note.
 
Sectors and Stocks

 
IT index was the biggest sectoral gainer, up over 2% on BSE, gaining for a second straight session with TCS and Infosys gaining 3.2% and 2.1% respectively.
 
Bank of Baroda rose around 1.7% ahead of its Q3 earnings report.
 
SBI gained over 1% during intra-day but later pared gains to settle in red after the company reported its first jump in quarterly profit since mid-2015. The company reported a 134% rise in standalone net profit at Rs 2,610 crore in quarter ending December 2016 as compared to Rs 1,150 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Oil & Gas sector was the major sectoral loser dragged by IOC, GAIL and BPCL. GAIL fell 1.5% ahead of its Q3 earnings.
 
Global Markets
 
Asian shares rallied to an 18-month peak on Friday, as investors cheered upbeat Chinese trade data and strong gains on Wall Street after US President Donald Trump promised to unveil a major tax announcement to lower the burden on businesses.
 
The mood was expected to carry over into European trading, with financial spreadbetters predicting opening gains for Britain's FTSE, Germany's DAX and France's CAC.
 
China's January exports rose 7.9% from a year earlier, while imports jumped 16.7%, beating expectations and getting the economy off to a strong start in 2017 even as Asia braces for a rise in U.S. protectionism under President Donald Trump.

 
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.5% to the highest level since July 2015, and was on track to gain 1.5 for the week. The Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.5%.
 
Japan's Nikkei stock index surged 2.5% thanks to the tailwind from a weaker currency, and added 2.4% for the week.
 
Wall Street's three main indexes notched record highs on Thursday after President Donald Trump said he would make a major tax announcement in a few weeks, though he offered no details.