Sensex opens above 36,000 mark

Key benchmark indices were trading higher in early trade on positive global cues. At 9:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 144 points or 0.40% at 36,109.02. The Nifty 50 index was up 44.35 points or 0.40% at 11,072.05. The Sensex was trading above psychological 36,000 mark after opening above that level.

Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley will present the Union Budget for the financial year 2018-19 today, 1 February 2018, in parliament. The Union Budget 2018-19 is the last full-year Budget of the NDA government, as the general elections are due in 2019. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will outline the government's priorities for the next fiscal year.

The market expects the government to continue following the path of fiscal consolidation. Investors are also expecting changes in the direct tax structure including income tax. Infrastructure is also expected to be a priority in the budget. Apart from the major reforms, several economists are urging the government to cut corporate tax rates in order to make the Indian industries competitive on a global level.

Among secondary barometers,the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.18%, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.47%, outperforming the Sensex.

The broad market depicted strength. There were more than two gainers against every loser on BSE. 912 shares rose and 410 shares fell. A total of 39 shares were unchanged.

Overseas, most Asian shares were trading higher, tracking gains seen on Wall Street following the Federal Reserve's decision to keep rates unchanged.

US stocks closed slightly higher in the last session. The US Federal Reserve announced it was holding rates steady, a move that was widely expected. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) also said it expected inflation pressure to pick up as the year progressed.

Meanwhile, private-sector employment was strong in January, as employers added 234,000 jobs, Automatic Data Processing Inc. reported Wednesday.

Back home, ICICI Bank was down 0.27%. The bank reported 32.42% slide in net profit to Rs 1650.24 crore on 4.12% fall in total income to Rs 16832.22 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 31 January 2018.

NTPC was down 0.65%. Net profit of NTPC declined 4.39% to Rs 2360.81 crore on 7.11% rise in net sales to Rs 20774.37 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 31 January 2018.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was up 2.22%. Consolidated net profit of L&T rose 48.41% to Rs 1617.88 crore on 10.10% rise in net sales to Rs 28747.45 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 31 January 2018.

On the macro front, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Wednesday revised the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate for 2015-16 to 8.2% and kept the 2016-17 growth unchanged at 7.1%. The real GDP or GDP at constant (2011-12) prices for the years 2016-17 and 2015-16 stood at Rs 121.96 lakh crore and Rs 113.86 lakh crore, respectively, showing growth of 7.1% during 2016-17 and 8.2% during 2015-16.

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