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Markets closed higher with Nifty settling above the 8,400 mark on the back of favourable domestic cues after the Union Cabinet gave a nod to the amendments to the GST Constitutional Amendment Bill, approved passage of a new consumer protection bill along with setting up of the National Investment & Infrastructure Fund worth Rs 20,000 crore. Firm global cues lifted the sentiments.
The Sensex surged 142 points to close at 27,705 and the Nifty surged 47 points to end at 8,422.
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Benchmark share indices came off their day's highs in late noon trades as investors booked profits ahead of the expiry of July derivative contracts. Defensive shares along with select financials were the top gainers while IT shares lost ground.
At 2:40PM, the 30-share Sensex was up 157 points at 27,720 and the 50-share Nifty was up 45 points at 8,420.
In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap index was up 0.9% and the Small-cap index was up 0.8%. Market breadth was strong with 1,710 gainers and 1,039 losers on the BSE.
The Indian rupee was trading lower against the US dollar at 63.95 compared to the previous close of 63.91 after the dollar gained against major currencies.
Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet today cleared important changes to the government's constitutional amendment Bill on the proposed national goods and services tax (GST).
Further, the US Fed at its two-day meeting which ended on Wednesday signalled that it may raise interest rates in September on the back of improvement in the labour market.
F&O EXPIRY
Nifty future has seen Rollover of around 67% as per provisional data and that is almost in line to the last six month averages. Index has negated its immediate negative trend of making lower highs - lower lows and given a smart move towards 8460 on the last of the July settlement. Higher roll-overs were seen in HDFC, HDFC Bank and Reliance among the top heavyweights counters.
"Nifty closed positive but slightly higher to the previous close of 8398 levels even after a volatile move and concern over the domestic and global factors. It witnessed buying support near to 8315-8330 zones but could not cross multiple hurdle of 8650 zones and closed above 8400 levels. India VIX fell down by 3.80% on series to series basis at 15.32 levels and lower volatility indicates that consolidation and buying interest on any decline is likely to happen in the market. On downside it has immediate support near to 8315 zones while on the upside crucial hurdle seen at 8650 zones," said Chandan Taparia, Derivatives Analyst at Anand Rathi Securities.
SECTORS & STOCKS
BSE FMCG and Realty indices were the top gainers up over 2.3% each followed by Power, Auto and Healthcare indices. IT index was the top loser.
ITC was up 2.7%. For April-June 2015 the company reported a net profit of Rs 2,265.44 crore – an increase of 3.6% over Rs 2,186.39 crore over corresponding period in last fiscal. HUL was also up 2.7%.
Dr Reddy's Labs was up 4.5% after the pharma major reported a 13.8% year-on-year (YoY) growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 626 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 (Q1) against an average analyst estimate of Rs 569 crore.
Cipla gained 3.7% after its partner Sandoz received a USFDA nod to launch a generic version of Pulmicort respules (budesonide).
HDFC was up over 2% after the company's board approved raising upto Rs 5,000 crore through issue of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures and warrants to qualified institutional buyers.
Meanwhile, IT shares witnessed profit taking after gains in the previous sessions. Infosys, TCS and Wipro were down 0.5-0.9% each.
Among other shares, logistics companies have surged on the bourses after the Union Cabinet cleared important changes to the government's constitutional amendment Bill on the proposed national goods and services tax (GST). Gati surged 8%, while Patel Integrated Logistics gained 8%, Blue Dart Express rose 7%, Snowman Logistics was up 4% and Transport Corporation of India was up 3%, Container Corporation of India gained 3%.
