Markets to extend gains, all eyes on GST council meet

The Nifty and the BSE Sensex scaled new highs on Tuesday and, if we go by the early trends in the SGX Nifty, the markets are likely to extend their gains on Wednesday. However, market participants will keep the GST council meet on radar, which is due late in the day and the outcome of this meet may dictate the future course. GST collections have fallen short of the government’s annual target and the council is expected to review the taxation structure for picking up the revenue. At the time of writing, the SGX Nifty trades at 12,205, up by 13 points.

On Wednesday, the Asian markets are trading mixed amidst risks of no-deal Brexit reemerge. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up by 0.36 per cent, China’s Shanghai Composite moved higher by 0.32 per cent, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped lower by 0.37 per cent.  

Back home, key benchmark indices touched new all-time highs and ended Tuesday’s session with gains of about a per cent. The BSE Sensex settled at 41,352 and the Nifty closed at 12,165 mark. The broader market indices, i.e. Nifty Midcap and Smallcap, ended with gains of 0.58 and 0.75 per cent, respectively. On the sectoral front, barring Nifty Pharma and Nifty Realty, all other indices ended in green, with Nifty Metal and Nifty IT gaining the most.   

As for global happenings, the US stocks once again reached new record closing highs on Tuesday. The Dow added 31 points, the Nasdaq rose 9 points, and the S&P 500 inched up 1 point. Homebuilding increases more than the forecast, as housing jumped up by 3.2 per cent to an annual rate of 1.365 million in November. Meanwhile, the European markets were mixed after the reports of the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing his intent to rule out any extension to the transition period for leaving the EU. This announcement increases the odds of a hard-Brexit, in which the UK leaves the union with no deal in place.