Comments
Indians shares edged higher on Friday in a volatile session as energy firms such as Reliance Industries rallied after the country simplified oil and gas licensing rules, while property developers gained after parliament passed a real estate bill.
The reforms raised hopes the government would take further measures after key parts of its legislative agenda, including a revamp of the goods and services tax (GST), had been stuck in parliament. The government controls the lower house of parliament but not the upper.
The broader NSE index was tentatively headed for a weekly gain of 0.1 per cent, its second consecutive weekly advance, marking a revival in sentiment after the government stuck to its fiscal deficit target for next year in the budget unveiled on February 29.
But recent outperformers such as Bharti Airtel fell as investors booked profits, capping broader gains.
Arun Kejriwal, a director at Kris Research, said he was encouraged the government was starting to bring to reality some of the measures it had discussed over the last two years.
"The upper house of parliament is functioning, and some key bills have been passed. Expect GST to be passed after recess (next month)," Kejriwal said.
The broader NSE index ended up 24.05 points or 0.32 per cent at 7,510.20 while the benchmark BSE index gained 0.38 per cent or 94.65 points to 24,717.99.
Among gainers, Reliance Industries rose 0.36 per cent after India on Thursday simplified oil and gas licensing rules in a bid to unlock $40 billion in oil and gas output. Cairn rose over 4.3 per cent and was the top gainer on the Nifty. HUL added 2.20 per cent. Adani Ports, Lupin and Zee Enterprises were the other top gainers.
Property developer DLF advanced 0.6 per cent after India's upper house of parliament passed a bill on Thursday to regulate the real estate sector.
The legislation could protect home buyers and ensure the timely execution of projects to boost investor confidence and stamp out illegal practices.
Meanwhile, Interglobe Aviation Ltd, the operator of India's largest carrier IndiGo, jumped 1.4 per cent after saying it had taken delivery of its first Airbus A320 Neo aircraft.
Idea lost the most on the Nifty; down by 2.2 per cent. Kotak Bank, Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid and Tata Steel were the other big losers today.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.