A bout of volatility was witnessed in afternoon trade as key benchmark indices trimmed gains after extending intraday gains to hit fresh intraday high. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 294.08 points or 0.82% at 36,092.09. The Nifty 50 index was up 104.40 points or 0.95% at 11,070.60. Indian stocks rose today, 23 January 2018, as firmness in global stocks boosted sentiment.
Shares opened higher as positive leads from Asian markets and overnight gains on the Wall Street boosted investors' sentiment. Key indices crossed the new milestones with the Sensex crossing the 36,000 mark and the Nifty crossing the 11,000 mark. Indices gradually extended gains as the day's trade progressed, with, both the Sensex and the Nifty hitting fresh record high levels above those levels.
The Sensex rose 349.74 points, or 0.97% at the day's high of 36,147.75 in afternoon trade, its record high level. The index rose 65.97 points, or 0.18% at the day's low of 35,863.98 in early trade. The Nifty rose 121.50 points, or 1.1% at the day's high of 11,087.70 in afternoon trade, its record high level. The index rose 28.35 points, or 0.26% at the day's low of 10,994.55 in early trade.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.88%, outperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.16%, underperforming the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was slightly positive. On BSE, 1,397 shares rose and 1,382 shares fell. A total of 128 shares were unchanged. Breadth was quite strong in early trade.
Capital goods stocks gained. Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) (up 0.86%), BEML (up 0.97%), Havells India (up 5.13%), ABB India (up 0.98%), Bharat Electronics (up 0.57%), and Siemens (up 0.04%) gained. L&T declined 0.25%. Thermax dropped 0.83%.
Most auto stocks also gained. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (up 1.02%), Ashok Leyland (up 3.22%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 1.02%), Bajaj Auto (up 0.79%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.66%), and TVS Motor Company (up 0.08%) gained. Eicher Motors (down 1.63%) and Tata Motors (down 0.31%) declined.
The automobile industry has largely sought rationalization of tax slabs and removal or reduction of cess by the Government in Union Budget 2018-19. The government needs to create an effective and tax-friendly framework for smooth implementation of electrification of India's huge transport fleet.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised upward its forecast for world economic growth in 2018 and 2019, to 3.9% for both 2018 and 2019, a 0.2 percentage point increase from its last update in October.
Overseas, Asian shares gained following the stronger lead from Wall Street after US lawmakers reached a deal to end a government shutdown.
Japan's central bank kept monetary settings unchanged and offered a more upbeat view on inflation expectations than three months ago. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) maintained a pledge to guide short-term interest rates at minus 0.1% and 10-year bond yields around zero percent at its two-day rate review that ended on Tuesday. It also kept intact a loose pledge to buy government bonds so its holdings increase roughly at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen ($722 billion). The nine-member board also kept its price forecasts that project inflation to hit 2% around the fiscal year ending in March 2020.
US stocks ended higher yesterday, 22 January 2018, after the Senate reached a short-term compromise to end a government shutdown that began last week. The stopgap bill approved by the Senate on Monday will keep the US government open through 8 February 2018. The House of Representatives subsequently voted and passed the bill to reopen the government, sending it to President Donald Trump for a signature. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%. The S&P 500 rose 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1%.
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