A bout of volatility was witnessed in mid-afternoon trade as the S&P BSE Sensex hit fresh intraday high, while the Nifty 50 index hovered near the day's high level. At 14:20 IST, the Sensex, was up 121.71 points or 0.41% at 29,653.14. The Nifty was up 21.90 points or 0.24% at 9,165.70.
The Sensex rose 132.13 points, or 0.45% at the day's high of 29,663.56 in mid-afternoon trade, its highest intraday level since 20 March 2017. The index fell 9.78 points, or 0.03% at the day's low of 29,521.65 in early trade. The Nifty rose 25.85 points, or 0.28% at the day's high of 9,169.65 in morning trade, its highest intraday level since 20 March 2017. The index fell 7.45 points, or 0.08% at the day's low of 9,136.35 in early trade.
Investors' sentiment got a boost after the much-awaited tax reform -- Goods and Services Tax (GST) -- inched closer to its 1 July 2017 rollout date with the Lok Sabha approving four supplementary legislations yesterday, 29 March 2017.
Shares displayed some volatility as traders roll over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near month March 2017 series to April 2017 series. The near month March 2017 derivatives contract expire today, 30 March 2017.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.46%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.84%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,720 shares rose and 906 shares fell. A total of 216 shares were unchanged.
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Cement shares were in demand. ACC (up 0.43%), Ambuja Cements (up 0.15%) and UltraTech Cement (up 0.02%), edged higher.
Grasim Industries was up 0.56%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
Most telecom shares edged higher. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 1.38%), MTNL (up 1.24%) and Reliance Communications (up 0.92%), edged higher. Bharti Airtel (down 0.42%) and Idea Cellular (down 1.13%), edged lower.
Telecom tower infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel was up 0.68% to Rs 338.15.
On the economic front, the Lok Sabha cleared four bills related to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) yesterday, 29 March 2017, setting the stage for 28 states, along with Delhi and Puducherry, to enact state laws over the next three months to roll out the new tax regime from July 2017.
The four bills Integrated GST, Central GST, Union Territory GST and Compensation Bill will be followed by work in the GST council, comprising FM Arun Jaitley and state finance ministers, to finalise rules and product- and service-wise rates by the end of April.
GST will replace central excise, service tax and state VAT and several other levies, in addition to subsuming existing cesses and surcharges.
Overseas, European stocks were trading higher as investors were still digesting the formal start the UK's exit from the European Union. Investors remained cautious after British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday triggered Article 50, formally beginning the two year process of the UK's exit from the European Union. Later Thursday, the UK government was to release a White Paper outlining significant legislative guidelines for Brexit.
Asian stocks were trading lower despite a positive lead from Wall Street as investors reassessed the outlook for monetary policy at the European Central Bank.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed higher for a fourth straight session Wednesday, while the Dow industrials finished lower, as stock investors digested hawkish comments from Federal Reserve speakers and a drop in US gasoline inventories bolstered the energy sector. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 22.41 points, or 0.4%, to finish at 5,897.55. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42.18 points, or 0.2%, to close at 20,659.32.
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