Key benchmark indices were trading higher in early trade, tracking positive leads from Asian markets and overnight gains in the US market. At 9:19 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 211.95 points or 0.64% at 33,425.08. The Nifty 50 index was up 66.25 points or 0.64% at 10,401.55.
Among secondary barometers,the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.57%, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.75%, outperforming the Sensex.
The broad market depicted strength. There were more than four gainers against every loser on BSE. 1,100 shares rose and 227 shares fell. A total of 34 shares were unchanged.
Overseas, Asian shares were trading higher mirroring a positive close in the US market overnight. The Caixin China General Manufacturing Purchase Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 51 for October, flat from the September level, according to the survey conducted by financial information service provider Markit and sponsored by Caixin Media Co. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below reflects contraction.
US stocks closed higher on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq ending at a record as quarterly results kept equities drifting near all-time highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.12%, the S&P 500 rose about 0.09% and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.43%.
US consumer confidence rose more than expected in October to the highest in almost 17 years as Americans grew more confident about the economy and job market, according to figures Tuesday from the New York-based Conference Board. Confidence index rose to 125.9, highest since December 2000, from 120.60 in September 2017.
The US Federal Reserve concludes a two-day policy meeting today, 1 November 2017, at which it is expected to leave interest rates unchanged. Most market participants expect the US central bank to resume hiking rates in December 2017.
Back home, telecom major Bharti Airtel was up 3.71%. The company's consolidated net profit fell 77% to Rs 343 crore on 10% decline in total revenue to Rs 21777 crore on an underlying basis in Q2 September 2017 over Q2 September 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 31 October 2017.
The company's consolidated earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) declined 15.4% to Rs 8004 crore in Q2 September 2017 over Q2 September 2016. EBITDA margin dropped 1.6% year-on-year at 36.8% in Q2 September 2017, led by India SA margin drop of 5% on an underlying basis (viz. adjusted for Africa/Bangladesh divested operating units and tower assets sale).
In a statement, Gopal Vittal, Bharti Airtel MD and CEO, India & South Asia said, the financial stress in the industry continues due to double digit revenue decline and will be further accentuated by the reduction in IUC rates in the next quarter. This will eventually force operator consolidation and exits as witnessed in the recent past. Airtel remains committed to its goal of increasing revenue market share in this competitive environment by providing superior customer experience and strategically investing behind building more data capacities, Vittal added.
Container Corporation of India (Concor) was down 2.22%. The company's net profit rose 41.24% to Rs 222.94 crore on 6.19% growth in total income to Rs 1525.54 crore in Q2 September 2017 over Q2 September 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 31 October 2017.
Tata Power Company was up 1%. The company announced the commissioning of a 30 megawatts (MW) solar power plant in Palaswade village of Satara district, Maharashtra, developed by its wholly owned subsidiary, Tata Power Renewable Energy (TPREL). The plant will produce over 6.2 crore units of solar power, covering the annual energy needs of over 14,000 Indian households. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 31 October 2017.
Bajaj Finance was up 0.50%. The company said that its debenture allotment committee at its meeting held on 31 October 2017, allotted 4,850 secured redeemable non-convertibles debentures aggregating to Rs 485 crore on private placement basis. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 31 October 2017.
Allahabad Bank was up 3.32%. The bank announced reduction in its marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) in all tenors by 15 basis points with effect from 1 November 2017. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 31 October 2017.
On the macro front, the eight core infrastructure sector, carrying 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), has shown healthy 5.2% increase in its output in September 2017 over September 2016. Its cumulative growth was 3.3% in April-September 2017. The data was disclosed after market hours yesterday, 31 October 2017.
The World Bank, after market hours yesterday, 31 October 2017, released the Doing Business (DB) Report, 2018. India ranks 100 among 190 countries assessed by the Doing Business Team. India has leapt 30 ranks over its rank of 130 in the Doing Business Report 2017.
The World Bank report recognized India as one of the top 10 improvers in this year's assessment, having implemented reforms in 8 out of 10 Doing Business indicators. India is the only large country this year to have achieved such a significant shift. On the "distance to frontier metric," one of the key indicators in the survey, India's score went from 56.05 in Doing Business 2017 to 60.76 in Doing Business 2018. This means last year India improved its business regulations in absolute terms - indicating that the country is continuing its steady shift towards best practice in business regulation.
The report noted that India has adopted 37 reforms since 2003. Nearly half of these reforms have been implemented in the last four years. The report captured reforms implemented in 190 countries in the period 2 June 2016 to 1 June 2017.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi hailed India's historic jump of 30 ranks in the World Bank's Doing Business Report, 2018 released yesterday. While terming the improvement in the rankings as historic, the Prime Minister in a series of tweets, said that the jump is the outcome of the all-round and multi-sectoral reform push of Team India. Modi promised to take steps to further improve the rankings.
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