Markets end in green on hopes of passing of GST bill

The S&P BSE benchmark Sensex recovered by 249 points to close at 28,051.86 and the NSE 50-share Nifty by 97 points to end at at 8,638.50 on fresh buying and hopes that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill inched closer to become a reality.

Market sentiment was also boosted after the US Federal Reserve opted to keep interest rates at ultra-low level after the conclusion of a two-day monetary policy meeting.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept interest rates and the government bond buying unchanged after the conclusion of a two-day monetary policy meeting.

Strong foreign capital inflows also was the another factor behind rise in Sensex.

The Sensex rose 248.62 points or 0.89 per cent to settle at 28,051.86 after hitting 11-month high of 28,240.20 during the week.

The Sensex had last traded at 28,417.59 on August 10, 2015 during the intra-day trade.

The NSE 50-share Nifty also rose by 97.30 points or 1.14 per cent to close at 8,638.50 after hitting 15-month high of 8,674.70 during the week. The Nifty had last traded at 8,699.85 on April 17, 2015.

The government on Friday listed the much-awaited GST bill for consideration and passage in Rajya Sabha’s agenda for the next week.

Meanwhile, the Group of 20 major economies, including India, has vowed to deploy all policy tools to foster confidence and boost global environment for growth, which they said was “challenging” and uncertain after the UK’s decision to exit the world’s largest single market, the EU.

Traders said covering-up of short positions on expiry of July series of derivative contracts and participants carrying positions to new series also boosted sentiment.

Broader market depicted strength. The BSE mid-cap index rose 383.81 points or 3.13 per cent to settle at 12,661.06 and the BSE small-cap index gained 202.64 points or 1.67 per cent to close at 12,309.95. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

Among the S&P, BSE sector and industry indices, Consumer Durables rose by 2.52 per cent, followed by Auto 2.15 per cent, Power 1.98 per cent, Teck 1.70 per cent, IT 1.51 per cent, Oil&Gas 1.42 per cent, Bankex 1.41 per cent, PSU 1.21 per cent and FMCG 1.14 per cent.

Consumer goods fell 0.46 per cent, followed by Healthcare 0.42 per cent and Metal 0.30 per cent.

In the 30-share Sensex pack, 19 stocks rose, while 11 declined during the week.

Car major Maruti was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack and was up by 7.61 pc, followed by Asian Paint 6.64 pc, PowerGrid 5.42 pct, Sun Pharma 5.33 pct, TCS 4.36 pct, Adaniports 3.32 pct, SBIN 2.51 pct, Lupin 2.47 pct, HindUnilever 2.06 pct, Cipla 1.99 pct, M&M 1.74 pct, Wipro 1.59 pct, Axis bank 1.58 pct, HDFC 1.38 pct, HDFC Bank 1.23 pct and ITC 1.16 per cent.

However, Dr Reddy dipped by 18.53 pc, Tata Steel 2.89 pct, GAIL 2.54 pct, Bharti Airtel 1.87 pct, HeroMotoco 1.53 pct, ONGC 1.12 pct, Larsen 1.01 pct and Coal India 0.76 pct.

The total turnover during the week at BSE and NSE rose to Rs 19,207.06 crore and Rs 1,22,169.73 crore, respectively, as against last weekend’s level of Rs 15,754.27 crore and Rs 96,015.14 crore.