The stock indices remained firm in mid-afternoon trade as firmness in most global stocks supported gains on the domestic bourses. At 14:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 148.09 points or 0.44% at 33,749.77. The Nifty 50 index rose 46.15 points or 0.44% at 10,434.90.
Indices extended gains after assembly election results released of two states yesterday, 18 December 2017, showed that ruling BJP party at the centre will form the next government in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. BJP won majority in both the states, winning 99 out of 182 seats in Gujarat and 44 out of 68 seats in Himachal Pradesh. Winning elections in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi cemented BJP's dominance in Indian politics and improved its chances in next general elections in 2019.
The market opened higher and traded with modest gains so far during the session.
Among secondary indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.18%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.36%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The broad market depicted strength. There were more than two gainers for every loser on BSE. 1,817 shares rose and 757 shares fell. A total of 170 shares were unchanged.
Most FMCG stocks gained. Tata Global Beverages (up 2.41%), Marico (up 0.78%), Britannia Industries (up 0.59%), Jyothy Laboratories (up 0.01%), Hindustan Unilever (HUL) (up 0.27%), Dabur India (up 1.37%), GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare (up 0.13%), and Bajaj Corp (up 4.08%) gained. Nestle India (down 0.14%), Colgate Palmolive India (down 0.63%), Godrej Consumer Products (down 0.11%), and Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (down 0.04%) declined.
Shares of power generation and power distribution companies also gained. Torrent Power (up 1.94%), NHPC (up 0.18%), NTPC (up 0.88%), Power Grid Corporation of India (up 0.8%), and Reliance Power (up 1.51%) gained. Adani Power (down 0.28%) and Reliance Infrastructure (down 0.39%) declined.
In the ongoing winter session of the Parliament, finance minister Arun Jaitley, responding to a query from P. Chidambaram on GST, reportedly said that the centre would await consensus of the states and hopes that states agree to the consensus sooner or later with respect to bringing petroleum products under the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Overseas, most European stocks gained and Asian stocks were mixed after a record-setting session on Wall Street on bets that US lawmakers would pass sweeping tax legislation. Among economic news, Japan's government revised up its growth projections for the current and next fiscal years, forecasting the economy to expand 1.9% and 1.8% respectively on the back of steady improvement in domestic demand, the Cabinet Office said.
US stocks closed at all-time highs yesterday, 18 December 2017, as investors eagerly awaited a vote on a bill that would cut corporate taxes. A slew of corporate deals also helped lift sentiment.
Congress is reportedly expected to vote as early as today, 19 December 2017, on a plan that would slash the federal corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%. Passing the bill would mark a big legislative win for Republicans, who have been pushing to revamp the US tax code for most of 2017.
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