Sensex ends 176 pts higher, Nifty regains 10,500; PSU banks, metals rally

All that happened in today's trade

4:00 PM

Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services 

 

Release of the next instalment of funds earmarked for bank recapitalisation proved to be a shot in the arm for PSBs, especially as some of the weak banks had been hauled up by RBI for prompt and corrective action. FOMC minutes and firmness in global equity peers also helped, but with oil hovering around $62, markets were measured in their rise.

3:48 PM

Sectoral trend 

Source: NSE

3:42 PM

Markets at close

 

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 33,969, up 176 points, while the Nifty50 settled at 10,504, up 61 points.

 

S&P BSE Sensex	33,920.50		0.38%
Nifty 50	10,481.70		0.37%
S&P BSE 200	4,671.62		0.47%
Nifty 500	9,483.10		0.46%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	17,922.63		0.58%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	19,490.18		0.75%

3:41 PM

Sensex heatmap at close 

Source: BSE

3:21 PM

Buzzing stock

Aurionpro Solutions surged 15% to Rs 284, also its 52-week high on BSE in intra-day trade, after Cyberinc, the company's subsidiary, entered into a definitive agreement with KPMG LLP, USA, for sale of its Identity and Access Management (IAM) business. The transaction is expected to close on January 31, 2018.

 

“Cyberinc’s IAM business is the largest independent IAM provider in the world. The proposed sale will require participation of Cyberinc US, UK, Australia and Aurionpro India,” Aurionpro Solutions said in a regulatory. READ MORE

3:10 PM

PSU bank stocks rally on bank recap plans 

The Indian government on Thursday sought parliament approval for Rs 800 billion ($12.62 billion) extra spending to recapitalise state banks as part of a move to help lenders deal with bad debts and revive credit growth. READ MORE

Source: NSE

3:00 PM

Markets check

S&P BSE Sensex	33,920.50		0.38%
Nifty 50	10,481.70		0.37%
S&P BSE 200	4,671.62		0.47%
Nifty 500	9,483.10		0.46%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	17,922.63		0.58%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	19,490.18		0.75%

2:43 PM

What a widening fiscal deficit could mean

 

The Union government may fail to meet its fiscal deficit target in the current financial year. That, however, is not the real concern.

 

You could trust the ingenuity of the finance ministry mandarins to finally present a fiscal deficit figure for 2017-18 that will not be much higher than the target of 3.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

 

Some expenditure (read dues to public sector bodies like the Food Corporation of India) will be deferred, disinvestment, including the merger of oil companies, should get a last-minute big push, and state-owned companies may be asked to declare special dividends allowing them to transfer a part of their reserves to reflect in the government’s non-debt capital receipts. READ FULL VIEW

2:23 PM

How to make most of your money in an uncertain 2018

 

Making money in 2018 may not be as easy as the year that went by. To tide over the volatility expected this year, it would be a good idea to make a few New Year resolutions and stick to them. Most experts believe that investors need to tone down their returns expectations this year as markets may not continue to grow as they have in the past two years.

 

Even if you were not disciplined or organised, you would have still made money in the last two years. The broader indices, Sensex and Nifty, rallied over 30 per cent in last calendar year. READ FULL REPORT

1:54 PM

Top five Nifty gainers 

Source: NSE

1:24 PM

PSU banks in focus

 

Shares of public sector banks were in focus with the Nifty PSU Bank index up nearly 3% in noon deals on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after media reports suggested that the government may outline the details of PSU recapitalisation plan later in the day. 

 

At 12:15 AM; the Nifty PSU Bank index, the largest gainer among sectoral indices, was up 2.9% at 3,726, as compared to 0.29% rise in the benchmark Nifty 50 index. Nifty Bank index was up 0.43%, while Nifty Private Bank index up marginally by 0.5%. READ MORE

1:00 PM

Market Check

S&P BSE Sensex	33,902.79		0.32%
Nifty 50	10,475.10		0.31%
S&P BSE 200	4,666.44		0.36%
Nifty 500	9,475.80		0.39%
S&P BSE Mid-Cap	17,881.19		0.35%
S&P BSE Small-Cap	19,489.29		0.74%

12:41 PM

Services bounce back to growth in December on fresh biz, reveals PMI

 

Activity in India's services industry bounced back to modest growth in December after contracting in the previous month, a private survey showed on Thursday, as new business orders stabilised and price increases slowed.

 

The Nikkei/IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index, which is based on a survey of private sector companies in Asia's third-largest economy, rose to 50.9 in December from 48.5 in November. The 50 mark separates growth from contraction.

 

However, expansion in just some industries such as information & communications and finance & insurance primarily drove overall business activity. READ MORE

12:21 PM

FPIs avoiding taxes by treating capital gains from NCDs as interest income

 

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) are nowadays categorising the gains from non-convertible debentures (NCDs) as interest income to benefit from tax arbitrage, a stark contrast to the earlier practice of showing such income as capital gains. 

 

Currently, the interest income of FPIs is subjected to five per cent withholding tax, against 15-20 per cent tax on capital gains, depending on the treaty. The amended Double Tax Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) with several countries, especially Mauritius and Singapore, are the reason behind this shift, experts say. READ MORE

12:09 PM

Tata Steel, NMDC hit 52-week high; L&T, Hindalco touch record high

 

Tata Steel, NMDC, Oil India, Jain Irrigation Systems, Jet Airways and Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) are among 36 stocks from the S&P BSE 500 index that hit their respective 52-week highs on BSE.

 

Of these 36 stocks, around 21 recorded new highs in intra-day trade. These include Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Sun TV Network, Hindalco Industries, APL Apollo Tubes, Bajaj Electricals, Rain Industries and Sterlite Technologies 

 

Besides NMDC and Oil India, NHPC, Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and SJVN from the public sector undertaking (PSU) hit 52-week highs on BSE. READ MORE