Market regains positive terrain

Key benchmark indices regained positive terrain in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 68.56 points or 0.21% at 32,458.52. The Nifty 50 index gained 17.10 points or 0.17% at 10,163.65. Firmness in global stocks supported gains on the bourses.

Market opened with small gains tracking firm Asian stocks and soon extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in early trade. Stocks pared gains in morning trade and later traded with small gains in mid-morning trade. Indices dropped into the red in early afternoon trade and hovered in the red in afternoon trade. Stocks once again regained positive terrain in mid-afternoon trade.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.46%, outperforming the Sensex. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.04%, underperforming the Sensex.

The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1,398 shares fell and 1,208 shares rose. A total of 133 shares were unchanged.

Most auto stocks declined. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (down 1.42%), Ashok Leyland (down 0.81%), Eicher Motors (down 1%), Bajaj Auto (down 1.01%), Tata Motors (down 0.88%) and TVS Motor Company (down 0.09%) declined. Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.58%) and Hero MotoCorp (up 1.42%) gained.

Pharma stocks dropped for the third straight session. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 2.08%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 0.86%), Cipla (down 2.27%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 0.51%), Lupin (down 1.74%), and Divi's Laboratories (down 0.56%) declined. Cadila Healthcare (up 0.34%) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.34%) gained.

Meanwhile, some rejig in Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate structure is required to reduce the burden on small and medium businesses, revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia has reportedly said. The GST, which amalgamates more than a dozen central and state levies like excise duty, service tax and VAT, will take about a year to stabilize, he reportedly said.

Overseas, European stocks were mixed as investors monitored fresh corporate earnings and awaited further developments of Spain's ongoing constitutional crisis.

Reports suggested that Spain's biggest political crisis in decades moves in to a decisive week as Madrid seeks to impose its control of the restive region. The Spanish government has urged Catalans to accept its decision to dismiss their secessionist leadership amid speculation that the regional President, Carlos Puigdemont, is planning to press ahead with a unilateral declaration of independence, as per reports.

Most Asian stocks gained led by Japanese stocks as the dollar spiked to more than three-month highs against the yen following a snap election in Japan on Sunday, 22 October 2017. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition secured a two-thirds "super majority" after winning 312 out of 465 seats available at Sunday's election, as per reports. Abe's solid win at the polls points to a continuation of fiscal and hyper-easy monetary policies under his Abenomics program.

Wall Street stocks surged to fresh records Friday, 20 October 2017, after US lawmakers took a key step toward enacting the tax reform plan sought by President Donald Trump. Investors were cheered by a party-line 51-49 vote in the Senate for a federal budget plan that permits the legislative body to pass the tax cut plan with a simple majority vote instead of a 60-person supermajority.

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