Nifty holds above 9,100; BSE smallcap index outperforms

The benchmark indices gained ground after opening flat ahead of the GST bill being tabled in the Lok Sabha later today. Other Asian markets, however, were trading mixed in morning deals, after Wall Street declined as US lawmakers delayed a vote on a healthcare bill seen as US President Donald Trump's first policy test.

At 12:15 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 29442 levels, up 117 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 9116, up 30 points. 

"We reiterate that the Nifty is likely to head towards 9,400-9,600 (price extension of previous up move from recent low of 7,893.80) over the next few weeks. Traders waiting for dips to initiate fresh longs post the UP election outcome should not get carried away by this pessimism. The chart structure remains positive as long as 8,850 remains unbroken on a closing basis," said brokerage Angel Broking in a technical note.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap added 0.3% and 0.7%, respectively.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1,451 shares rose and 879 shares fell. A total of 137 shares were unchanged.

Sectors and stocks

Shares of public sector undertakings (PSU) were in focus with the Nifty PSU Bank index gaining more than 2% as media report suggested that the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has promised to offer a solution to the growing non performing assets (NPA) crisis in next few days.

Nifty PSU Bank index was the largest gainer among sectoral indices, while Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank were up 1% each.

Among individual banking stocks, Bank of Baroda (BOB), Bank of India (BOI), Syndicate Bank, Corporation Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Union Bank of India and Punjab National Bank (PNB) were up more than 2% each. 

YES Bank was up nearly 2% at Rs 1,544 after the private sector lender announced that its qualified institutional placement (QIP) offer has opened on Thursday.  The stock is trading close to its record high of Rs 1,545.45 touched on March 16, 2017.
 

GST bill to be tabled today

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill is scheduled to be tabled in the Lok Sabha today. The Union Cabinet earlier on Monday gave its nod to four legislations of the much-awaited GST Bill namely the Central, State, Union Territory and Integrated GST, along with the Compensation Bill.

Global markets

Asian share markets and S&P 500 futures edged higher as investors dipped a toe back into risk trades after a week of wild swings in sentiment.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2%, but was still a fraction lower for the week. Australia bounced back from a tough few days to be up 0.9% on the day. Japan's Nikkei added 0.9% encouraged by a slight softening in the yen.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index edged 4.72 points, or 0.02% lower at 20,656.58. The S&P500 index fell 2.49 points, or 0.11% to 2,345.96. The Nasdaq Composite index declined 3.95 points, or 0.07% to 5,817.69. 

Trump’s healthcare bill gets delayed 

The US House of Representatives on Thursday put off the vote on Trump's healthcare bill after failing to find enough support among Republicans to pass it. He will get a second chance to try to close the deal with Republican lawmakers later in the day, but it remained unclear whether it would pass.

Investors regard the vote as test for the Trump presidency that could show whether it can muster the backing needed to push through his ambitious plans of overhauling the tax code and investing in infrastructure.

(With inputs from Reuters)