Face of Nation : The bulls on Dalal Street made a strong comeback in the last hour of the session on Thursday after reports said the government was looking to roll-back the recently imposed higher tax on the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). The S&P BSE Sensex jumped 637 points or 1.74 per cent to settle at 37,327 levels with HCL Tech being the top gainer and Tata Steel the biggest laggard. Out of 30 constituents, 27 ended in the green and just 3 in the red. The broader Nifty50 index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) reclaimed the crucial level of 11,000 to end at 11,032.45, up 177 points or 1.63 per cent.
The Centre is likely to exempt foreign portfolio investors from an increase in taxes that was part of the Union Budget approved by Parliament but heavily criticised, a government official said on Thursday. Sectorally, all indices on the NSE settled in the positive territory. Auto stocks rallied the most, followed by IT and PSU bank counters. The Nifty Auto index ended 6,998.45, up 3 per cent.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap index gained 57 points or 0.42 per cent to settle at 13,566 while the S&P BSE SmallCap index ended at 12,574.25, up 92 points or 0.74 per cent. Shares of HCL Technologies gained 7 per cent to Rs 1,094 apiece on the BSE after the company posted double-digit revenue growth in the first quarter of the financial year 2019-20 (Q1FY20). In constant currency (CC) terms, the company’s revenue grew 17 per cent year-on-year (YoY) and 7.7 per cent on sequential basis.
Shares of Affle India made a strong debut on the bourses and were listed at Rs 930 on the BSE, a premium of 25 per cent against the issue price of Rs 745. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the stock opened at Rs 926, a 24 per cent increase against the issue price. The stock, however, pared its early gains to settle at Rs 875 apiece on the BSE.
