Trading for the day started on a positive note as key benchmark indices edged higher in early trade after reports of a significant breakthrough on Goods & Services Tax (GST) front between the Centre and the states preparing ground for the rollout of the biggest tax reform from 1 July 2017. At 9:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 58.81 points or 0.22% at 27,346.98. The Nifty 50 index was up 21.35 points or 0.25% at 8,434.15. Domestic bourses continued to consolidate their recent gains.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.31%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.38%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1,060 shares rose and 345 shares declined. A total of 61 shares were unchanged.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley reportedly said that in a significant breakthrough on Goods & Services Tax (GST) front, the Centre and the states reached a consensus on the contentious dual control issue preparing ground for the rollout of the biggest tax reform from 1 July 2017. The Centre would assess 50% of the assessees under Rs 1.5 crore annual turnover and the states the other 50%. As much as 90% of the assessees with less than Rs 1.5 crore annual turnover will come under the states and the balance 10% under the Centre, report added.
According to Jaitley, the whole process of preparing the draft laws and deciding the rate slabs will need time until March, which makes 1 July rollout a more realistic deadline than earlier 1 April.
Overseas, Asian stocks were mixed as US financial markets remained closed yesterday, 16 January 2017, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day crimping market activity.
British Prime Minister Theresa May will address speech on Brexit today, 17 January 2017. Investors will scrutinise May's speech for clues to whether she plans to prioritise immigration controls in a "hard Brexit" that some say could hurt UK's economy.
Back home, ITC (up 1.09%), SBI (up 0.84%) and NTPC (up 0.76%) were amongst the major gainers from the Sensex pack.
TCS rose 0.93% after the company announced a partnership with Aurus, Inc., a global leader in innovative payments technology, to deliver payment solutions for retailers using TCS OmniStore, a first of its kind unified store commerce platform. The omnichannel payment solution facilitates transactions across channels and delivers unmatched convenience and security to both end consumers and retailers.
Through this partnership with Aurus, retailers using TCS OmniStore will be able to easily process multiple payments across channels. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 16 January 2017.
HCL Technologies gained 0.49%. The company after market hours yesterday, 16 January 2017, issued a clarification to the stock exchanges on a law suit filed against HCL America Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the company. CultureSphere Inc., a California based corporation, has made certain claims and allegations against HCL America Inc and has filed a suit against HCL America Inc in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
While the matter is sub-judice and the company will respect the legal outcome, the company, in the interest of its stakeholders, would like to clarify that the allegations in the lawsuit are totally baseless, and there have been no agreements written or unwritten between the parties, HCL Technologies said. The company added that it will defend its position accordingly.
Infosys rose 0.44% after the company announced its internal carbon price at $10.5 per ton of CO2e, at an event organized by the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC) in Zurich. A significant milestone for Infosys, the price will be applicable for a period of two years and will represent the cost of decarbonizing 1 ton of CO2e.
Infosys has been working towards building a clean energy future and has been on track to meet its commitment of becoming carbon neutral in 2018. In addition, Infosys has also committed to reduce its per-capita electricity consumption by 50% from the 2008 level and use 100% renewable power for electricity by 2018. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 16 January 2017.
Reliance Industries (RIL) dropped 1.49% after announcing Q3 results. On a consolidated basis, the company's net profit rose 3.6% to Rs 7506 crore on 16.1% increase in turnover to Rs 84189 crore in Q3 December 2016 over Q3 December 2015. Profit before depreciation, interest, and taxes (PBDIT) increased by 3.9% to Rs 14215 crore in Q3 December 2016 over Q3 December 2015.
Profit before tax increased by 3.7% to Rs 10213 crore in Q3 December 2016 over Q3 December 2015. Cash Profit increased by 2.3% to Rs 10586 crore in Q3 December 2016 over Q3 December 2015. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 16 January 2017. The result is as per Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS).
Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) rose 0.25% after the company said that it received in-principle approval for merger of Petronet CCK (PCCKL) with itself. PCCKL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BPCL. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 16 January 2017.
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