Market trades with small gains

Key indices trimmed gains after hitting fresh intraday high in early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, advanced 49.26 points or 0.15% at 33,610.81. The Nifty 50 index rose 20.20 points or 0.2% at 10,362.50. The Government constituting a task force to review the Income-tax Act, 1961 and to draft a new Direct Tax Law in consonance with economic needs of the country supported gains on the bourses amid mixed Asian cues.

Indices hovered between gains and losses near the flat line in early trade amid mixed Asian cues. Stocks hovered with small gains in a narrow range later during the session.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.18%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.64%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The breadth indicating health of the market was positive. On BSE, 1,481 shares rose and 960 shares declined. A total of 136 shares were unchanged.

Realty stocks were mixed. DLF (up 1.23%), D B Realty (up 2.38%), Sobha (up 0.77%), Godrej Properties (up 0.15%), and Housing Development & Infrastructure (HDIL) (up 2.93%) edged higher. Indiabulls Real Estate (down 0.52%), Unitech (down 1.86%), NBCC (down 0.07%) and Oberoi Realty (down 0.91%) declined.

Auto stocks also traded mixed. Ashok Leyland (up 0.35%), Eicher Motors (up 1.09%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.69%), Tata Motors (up 0.01%) and TVS Motor Company (up 2.12%) gained. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (down 0.2%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.31%), and Bajaj Auto (down 0.13%) declined.

Garware-Wall Ropes lost 1.7% after net profit rose 6.87% to Rs 28.15 crore on 8.45% fall in total income to Rs 210.38 crore in Q2 September 2017 over Q2 September 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 22 November 2017.

On the macro front, in order to review the Income-tax Act, 1961 (the Act) and to draft a new Direct Tax Law in consonance with economic needs of the country, the Government yesterday, 22 November 2017, has constituted a task force with Arbind Modi, Member (Legislation), CBDT-Convener. Dr. Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) will be a permanent special invitee in the task force.

The terms of reference of the task force is to draft an appropriate Direct Tax Legislation keeping in view; the direct tax system prevalent in various countries, the international best practices, the economic needs of the country and any other matter connected thereto.

Overseas, Asian stocks were mixed with Chinese stocks dropping after Beijing took steps to halt the proliferation of small online lenders. In US, the S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrials Average ended slightly lower yesterday, 22 November 2017, maintaining a soft tone after the Federal Reserve minutes indicated that an interest-rate hike is likely but the pace of future tightening could be more moderate than expected given muted inflation. The Nasdaq Composite Index bucked the broader trend to finish at a record, logging its third gain in a row.

The Fed viewed a near-term increase in interest rates as possible but central bank officials also expressed concerns about persistently low inflation, hinting that the bank may dial back its rate increases in 2018. The minutes also showed that several members worried that keeping interest rates too low could create a financial bubble.

US durable-goods orders fell 1.2% in October. Excluding transportation orders increased 0.4%. Initial jobless claims a tool to measure US layoffs, fell by 13,000 to 239,000 in the week ended 18 November. The University of Michigan's latest read on consumer sentiment came in at 98.5, topping expectations.

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