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Sensex Trades on a Positive Note; HDFC Bank Hits All-time High
Fri, 17 Feb 01:30 pm

After opening the day on a positive note, share markets in India have continued to trade strong and are trading comfortably above the dotted line. Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note. With the stocks in the banking sector and stocks in the pharma sector leading the gains. Stocks in the IT sector and the metal sector are trading in the red.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 182 points (up 0.7%) and the NSE Nifty is trading up by 52 points (up 0.6%). Meanwhile, the BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.6%, while the BSE Small Cap index is trading down by 0.5%. The rupee is trading at 67.02 to the US$.

HDFC Bank share price surged over 9% in today's trade reaching its record high of Rs 1450. The stock surged after it was reported that Reserve Bank of India removed restrictions on foreign institutional investors for the purchase of shares of the lender with immediate effect.

Speaking about our views on HDFC Bank, the stock was recommended by the StockSelect team when the scrip was trading at quite attractive valuations. To know more about our views on the stock, do check our latest update (Subscription required).

In news from stocks in the oil and gas sector, state run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) announced its planned capital expenditure for the 2017-18 fiscal.

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ONGC aims to spend over Rs 290 billion in FY 2017-18, similar to the capex planned for the current fiscal year. According to ONGC, the planned capital expenditure will go towards developing its offshore oil and gas fields.

Though the expenditure would be similar to that was planned for this year, the physical activity would be more next year since the cost of services has fallen.

The cost of rigs and many oilfield services have fallen by about 25-30% in two years since the crude oil price slumped, benefitting explorers and producers such as ONGC.

The capex for the next fiscal year doesn't include the $1.2 billion, or Rs 80 billion, ONGC has to pay for the purchase of Gujarat State Petroleum Corp's stake in the KG Basin asset. ONGC will meet its funding requirement through internal resources.

The company is aiming to spend Rs 293 billion in FY2016-17. In the first nine months, it has used up Rs 19,000 crore, or about two-thirds of its target, which is at a slower pace than some of its peers that have already exceeded annual targets.

The next fiscal could signal a world of change in India's oil and gas sector as the government envisions the creation of an integrated public sector 'oil major' which will be able to match the performance of international and domestic private sector oil and gas companies.

The resulting entity from the consolidation of India's major oil & gas PSUs will create an oil major which could top over US$ 100 billion in market revenue.

Consolidation to Lift the Oil and Gas Sector?

Consolidation to Lift the Oil and Gas Sector?

It remains to be seen how the government moves forward with this proposal. The short term and long term implications of a merger of this scale will be a key thing to watch out for.

Moving on to news about the economy. The tenth meeting of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) council, is set to be held tomorrow.

The states and the Centre will meet on Saturday to vet the draft supporting legislations crucial for the implementation of GST.

With a consensus on all the contentious issues, including on sharing of administrative powers between the Centre and the states, the Centre is hopeful that the 10th meeting of the GST council will give its nod to the final drafts of all the legislations-the central GST bill, the state GST bill, the integrated GST bill and the bill to compensate states for revenue losses arising from a transition to GST.

The council's nod will pave the way for three bills to be tabled in Parliament in the second half of the budget session beginning 9 March and for the state GST bill to be passed by respective state assemblies.

Passage of the bills at the earliest will be imperative for the government to meet its revised GST implementation deadline of 1 July 2017.

GST will subsume a host of indirect taxes levied by the center and the states, including excise duty, service tax, value-added tax, entry tax, luxury tax and entertainment tax. A transparent tax regime may very well be beneficial to the investors, individuals and businesses.

It all paints a rosy picture, but in the long term it may not be the case. Vivek Kaul has a special report ready, which will help you understand how GST actually affects you. You can download this special report - GST & You, for free right here.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

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