Key benchmark indices firmed up once again after minor profit booking in afternoon trade. Buying gathered pace after the media reported that China has exempted tariff on more US products.
At 13:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 77.27 points or 0.19% at 41,635.84. The index hit a record high of 41,685.02.
The Nifty 50 index was up 20.25 points or 0.17% at 12,241.90. The index hit a record high of 12,261.25.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.02% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.14%.
The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1082 shares rose and 1165 shares fell. A total of 171 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 21 stocks advanced while 29 stocks declined.
Economy:
The 38th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman took place on Wednesday (18 December 2019).
The council decided to tax woven and non-woven bags at 18%, compared with 12% at present. It exempted from tax the upfront amount payable for long-term lease of industrial and financial infrastructure plots by any entity that is owned 20% or more by the Centre or state governments. Presently, the exemption is available to an entity having 50% or more ownership of Central or State Government. This change shall become effective from 1 January 2020.
On lotteries, the new unified rate of 28% will be applicable from 1 March 2020. The tax is levied on the face value of the lottery tickets, inclusive of the prize money to be distributed to the winners, margin of agents, retailers and distributors.
Stocks in Spotight:
M&M (up 2.79%), Eicher Motors (up 2.64%), Hero MotoCorp (up 2.18%), TCS (up 2.04%) and Tata Motors (up 1.63%) were the top gainers.
Vedanta (down 2.32%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 2.57%), Grasim Industries (down 1.94%), Bharti Airtel (down 1.38%) and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (down 0.91%) were the top laggards.
Yes Bank fell 2.35% to Rs 45.65. India Ratings and Research and ICRA have downgraded their rating on the private sector bank. The rating agencies have cited concerns over bank's ability to raise funds for further equity infusion as the reasons for the downgrade.
Foreign Markets:
European shares traded higher while most Asian stocks declined on Thursday as investors remained on the sidelines amid lack of fresh catalysts after the year's big run-up. Investors are also keeping an eye on impeachment proceedings in the US.
China has released another list of US products that will be exempted from the first round of additional tariffs on American goods. This is the second set of American goods to be excluded from China's first round of tariff countermeasures against the US Section 301 measures, Xinhua news agency quoted the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council as saying in a statement. The exemption list will be valid from 26 December 2019 to 25 December 2020.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan on Thursday keeps monetary policy steady. In its statement, the BoJ said: Japan's economy is likely to continue on a moderate expanding trend, as the impact of the slowdown in overseas economies on domestic demand is expected to be limited, although the economy is likely to continue to be affected by the slowdown for the time being.
In US, stocks extended winning streak on Wednesday with the boost in sentiment from a preliminary US-China trade. Investors remained largely unfazed by impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump led by House Democrats.
The United States House of Representatives on Wednesday voted largely along party lines to impeach President Donald Trump for obstruction of Congress and abuse of power related to his dealings with Ukraine. Trump is only the third president in US history to be impeached by the full House.
The trial on removing Trump from office will now move to the Senate. Republicans hold a solid majority and are expected to exonerate him in the Senate.
In Europe, both the Bank of England and Sweden's Riksbank will announce interest rate decisions on Thursday, with the latter expected to lift rates out of negative territory.
The Queen will outline the new U.K. government's plans on Thursday after Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party secured a significant majority in last week's general election.
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