INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: Indian equity market extended its winning streak to a second consecutive session, underpinned by gains in select auto, FMCG and
bank stocks, including ITC, ICICI Bank and Maruti Suzuki.
The BSE Sensex settled at 36,719, up by 222 points, or 0.61 per cent
This was the fresh all-time high for the index.
The NSE Nifty climbed 75 points, or 0.68 per cent, up to close the day at 11,085
The closing was highest since January 24, 2018.
The sentiment turned positive after the GST Council on Saturday slashed rates on over 100
items, aimed at appealing to traders and the middle classes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government eyes next year's elections
"New GST rates will generally be positive for discretionary consumption, said Viral Berawala, CIO at Essel Mutual Fund
The Narendra Modi government won the no-confidence motion on Friday comfortably, giving fresh hope to market participants for further
Besides, Indian rupee recovered on Monday as the dollar weakened globally after the US President expressed his displeasure over the
monetary policy of the Federal Reserve.
As per Reuters, Trump lamented the recent strength of the US dollar and accused the European Union
and China of manipulating their currencies
Market participants believe Trump's comment can reverse the recent losing streak of the Indian rupee.
Vedanta, surging over 4 per cent,
led the pack of Sensex gainers
Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel and Tata Steel also featured among the Sensex gainers.
On the contrary, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank and
Reliance Industries stood as the laggards in the Sensex index.
Havells India (up 9.13 per cent), Bata India (up 6.96 per cent), Bajaj
Electricals (up 5.95 per cent), Lemon Tree Hotels (up 3.48 per cent), IFB Industries (up 2.78 per cent), Asian Paints (up 2.63 per cent) and
Dixon Technologies (India) (up 2.20 per cent) hogged the limelight on Monday as the GST Council slashed tax rates on paints, electrical and
leather items, including many others.
HDFC Bank (down 1.48 per cent) suffered losses on Monday even as the bank reported an 18.2 per cent
rise in its net profit at Rs 4,601.44 crore in the first quarter to June on robust interest income and low level of bad assets on its books
Brokerages, including CLSA, Jefferies, Nomura and Citi, kept their 'Buy' call on HDFC Bank intact, enthused by its June quarter financial
Two-wheeler makers Hero MotoCorp (down 6.20 per cent) and Bajaj Auto (down 5.35 per cent) hit 52-week lows today.
A report in Reuters
suggested that the aggressive stance of the two companies to gain market share in entry-level bikes segment by reducing prices may trigger
similar moves by other companies as well, eventually impacting the margins
Bajaj Auto on Friday missed Street estimate as it reported a 20.71 per cent rise in standalone net profit for the quarter to June
Hero MotoCorp will be reporting its earnings on Wednesday.
All sectors, barring BSE Energy, settled in the green
Broader midcap and smallcap indices outperformed Sensex, rising up to 1.29 per cent
European markets were down at the time of writing this report
Among Asian peers, Shanghai SE Composite Index climbed over 1 per cent, but Nikkei declined over 1 per cent.
