Sensex jumps 241 pts to end short of 29,000 mark; strong Q3 GDP, firm global cues buoy markets

Mumbai: Robust GDP data for the December quarter allayed market fears as the Sensex Wednesday rallied over 241 points to end at about a six-month high of 28,985 amid firm global cues. The impact was such that even the broader NSE Nifty took back the 8,900-mark. The Central Statistic Office yesterday showed that GDP expanded by 7 percent in the third quarter, belying all fears of the note ban derailing economic activity. It also retained its first advance growth estimate for the fiscal at 7.1 percent. The Sensex took off on a positive note and went past the key 29,000-mark to touch a high of 29,029.17 before settling up by 241.17 points, or 0.84 percent, at 28,984.49, a level last seen on 8 September last year when it had closed at 29,045.28. [caption id=“attachment_2415832” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] The gauge had lost 149.65 points in the previous two sessions. The NSE Nifty also moved up 66.20 points, or 0.75 percent, to 8,945.80 after shuttling between 8,960.80 and 8,898.60. A monthly PMI survey showed that India’s manufacturing sector grew for the second straight month in February. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, in his address to the Congress, took a more measured tone, saying he is open to immigration reforms. Moody’s Investors Service said demonetisation will be credit positive for India as it is likely to reduce tax avoidance and corruption, which cheered market players. “A surprise growth of 7.1 percent in third quarter GDP data and no negative comments in Trump’s speech have given a renewed buying interest in the market. The impact of cash crunch seems over-estimated. Prima facie, the February auto sales numbers are looking better as discretionary spending is gradually picking up,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services. Both the key indices have rallied by almost 9 percent in the past two months, largely on the back of a growth-oriented Budget, better-than-expected earnings from bluechip companies and strong global cues. The government pegged GDP growth at a higher-than-expected 7.1 percent for 2016-17 despite the cash blues, with manufacturing and agriculture doing exceptionally well, which in turn made India keep the tag of the world’s fastest growing large economy. Better Chinese factory readings led to a higher closing in Asia and and a better opening in Europe. Stocks of automobile companies led by M&M, Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto were in limelight and gained up to 3.13 percent largely on the back of encouraging sales numbers for February. Other prominent gainers included Tata Steel, Dr Reddy’s, ITC Ltd, Sun Pharma, HDFC Ltd, Axis Bank, Infosys, SBI, Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank, Power Grid and Cipla, rising by up to 3.66 percent. Out of the 30-share Sensex pack, 21 ended higher while 9 led by GAIL, NTPC, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, RIL, Coal India, Lupin and Wipro ended lower, which limited the gains. The BSE realty index gained the most by surging 3.46 percent, followed by metal 1.91 percent, FMCG 1.30 percent, bank 0.96 percent and healthcare 0.87 percent. In sync with the upward trend, the small-cap index rose 0.45 percent and mid-cap 0.13 percent. Meanwhile, foreign investors bought shares worth Rs 1,146.23 crore yesterday, showed provisional data. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.15 percent and Japan’s Nikkei up 1.44 percent while Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.16 percent. In Europe, London’s FTSE was up 0.61 percent, Paris’ CAC 1.11 percent and Frankfurt’s DAX 1.14 percent in their early deals. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive as 1,647 stocks ended higher, 1,199 declined and 197 ruled steady. The total turnover at BSE fell to Rs 3,816.09 crore, from Rs 4,988.27 crore yesterday.