Key benchmark indices hit fresh intraday high in morning trade ahead of the Union Budget speech. At 10:19 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 183.96 points or 0.51% at 36,148.98. The Nifty 50 index was up 51.65 points or 0.47% at 11,079.35. The Sensex was trading above psychological 36,000 mark after opening above that level. Positive global cues also boosted sentiment.
Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley will present the Union Budget for the financial year 2018-19 in parliament at 11:00 IST today, 1 February 2018. The Union Budget 2018-19 is the last full-year Budget of the NDA government, as the general elections are due in 2019. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will outline the government's priorities for the next fiscal year.
The market expects the government to continue following the path of fiscal consolidation. Investors are also expecting changes in the direct tax structure including income tax. Infrastructure is also expected to be a priority in the budget. Apart from the major reforms, several economists are urging the government to cut corporate tax rates in order to make the Indian industries competitive on a global level.
The Sensex rose 261.95 points, or 0.73% at the day's high of 36,226.97 in morning trade, its highest level since 30 January 2018. The index rose 56.86 points, or 0.16% at the day's low of 36,021.88 in morning trade. The Nifty rose 73 points, or 0.66% at the day's high of 11,100.70 in morning trade, its highest level since 30 January 2018. The index rose 11.80 points, or 0.11% at the day's low of 11,039.50 in morning trade.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.16%, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.67%, outperforming the Sensex.
The broad market depicted strength. There were more than two gainers against every loser on BSE. 1,489 shares rose and 737 shares fell. A total of 96 shares were unchanged.
Most metal shares declined. Hindustan Copper (down 3.12%), Tata Steel (down 0.87%), Hindalco Industries (down 0.8%), Hindustan Zinc (down 0.47%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 0.32%) and National Aluminium Company (down 0.27%), edged lower. Steel Authority of India (up 0.11%), NMDC (up 0.28%), Bhushan Steel (up 0.29%) and JSW Steel (up 0.31%), edged higher.
Vedanta was down 2.06%. The company's consolidated net profit declined 8.62% to Rs 2959.00 crore on 25.48% rise in net sales to Rs 24361.00 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 31 January 2018.
Power generation stocks were mixed. GMR Infrastructure (up 2.07%), Adani Power (up 0.82%), Reliance Infrastructure (up 0.77%), Tata Power (up 0.56%), CESC (up 0.42%) and Jaiprakash Power Ventures (up 0.42%), edged higher. NHPC (down 0.17%), Reliance Power (down 0.44%), Torrent Power (down 0.7%) and JSW Energy (down 0.86%), edged lower.
State-run Coal India was up 0.12%. State-run Power Grid Corporation of India was down 0.83%.
NTPC was down 0.44% after the company reported 4.4% fall in net profit to Rs 2360.81 crore on 7.1% rise in net sales to Rs 20774.37 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 31 January 2018.
Engineering and construction major L&T advanced 3% after consolidated net profit surged 48.4% to Rs 1617.88 crore on 10.1% growth in net sales to Rs 28747.45 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 31 January 2018.
The company won fresh orders worth Rs 48130 crore at the group level during Q3 December 2017, registering a growth of 38%, with strong ordering activity witnessed during the quarter. Consolidated order book of the group stood at Rs 270727 crore as on 31 December 2017, higher by 4.7% on a y-o-y basis. The international order book constituted 25% of the total order book.
L&T said that the board of directors of the company has approved subscription to the equity shares offered by L&T Finance Holdings (LTFH) on a preferential basis up to an amount not exceeding Rs 2000 crore, subject to necessary approvals, including the approval of board of directors and shareholders of LTFH. The exact amount of the subscription would depend on the preferential issue that LTFH would be making to the company, L&T said.
Overseas, most Asian shares were trading higher, tracking gains seen on Wall Street following the Federal Reserve's decision to keep rates unchanged.
US stocks closed slightly higher in the last session. The US Federal Reserve announced it was holding rates steady, a move that was widely expected. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) also said it expected inflation pressure to pick up as the year progressed.
Meanwhile, private-sector employment was strong in January, as employers added 234,000 jobs, Automatic Data Processing Inc. reported Wednesday.
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