Moneycontrol Bureau



9:55 am Tax collection: Government's direct tax kitty has swelled to Rs 5.57 lakh crore between April 1 and December 19, thereby achieving 65 percent of budget estimates.

The mop up from indirect tax, which comprises customs, excise and service tax, in April-November period jumped 26.2 percent to Rs 7.53 lakh crore.

Belying fears of slowdown in industrial activity post demonetisation, the indirect tax collection in November alone grew 23.1 percent to Rs 67,358 crore.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, irrespective of what critics had predicted, figures revealed that till November 30, there is a significant increase in indirect taxes.

9:45 am FII: Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley said, "Key drivers for the market mood in Q1FY17 remain incoming growth data, global cues especially on US tightening, President-elect Trump's fiscal plans, commodity prices and the forthcoming Budget on February 1."



"We expect the U-shaped earnings recovery to be delayed by a quarter or two. We estimate an earnings growth of 2 percent Y-o-Y for FY17 and 18 percent for FY18."



"Improving external environment augers well for earnings, although headwinds from higher oil prices and some demand impact due to the recent currency ban could weigh on earnings in the near team," he added.



9:30 am Market gains: The market manages to climb as the Sensex is up 171.12 points or 0.6 percent at 26537.27. The Nifty is up 52.20 points or 0.6 percent at 8155.80. About 1202 shares have advanced, 271 shares declined, and 53 shares are unchanged.

ICICI Bank, ITC, Asian Paints, Maruti and Sun Pharma are top gainers while Bharti Airtel, Coal India and Bajaj Auto are losers in the Sensex,

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The market has kick-started January Futures and Options (F&O) series on a flat note. The Sensex is up 54.61 points or 0.2 percent at 26420.76 and the Nifty is up 16.05 points or 0.2 percent at 8119.65. About 215 shares have advanced, 50 shares declined, and 19 shares are unchanged. Investors will be keenly watching for any government announcement as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 50-day demonetisation deadline draws to a close today.

Cipla, ONGC, Maruti, Axis Bank and Asian Paints are top gainers while HDFC, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, Infosys and Reliance are losers in the Sensex.



The Indian rupee gained in the early trade. It has opened higher by 15 paise at 67.95 per dollar versus 68.10 Thursday.



Bhaskar Panda of HDFC Bank said, "Festive fervour is the theme right now across the world. The dollar index has given up some of the recent gains and is trading below 103. EM currencies are still under cloud."



"USD-INR is expected to trade within 67.80-68.10/dollar range," he added.



The US dollar slipped against the yen and the euro as traders use the quiet holiday period to take profits on the dollar's recent gains, while a drop in US treasury yields on waning risk appetite reduced the greenback's appeal.



Globally, Asian stocks and the dollar were off to a subdued start as investors took profits on the last trading day of 2016, while the euro briefly spiked in thin trade.

The euro jumped as much as 2 percent early on Friday, its biggest intraday gain since November 8, before settling back down to trade 0.6 percent higher at USD 1.0559.



MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed early on Friday. In a year marked by major political surprises, including Brexit and the unexpected election of political novice Donald Trump to US President in November, Asia ex-Japan stocks are poised to post a 3.3 percent gain.



Wall Street ended slightly lower on Thursday, held down by bank shares in quiet holiday trading as traders looked to position for the new year.



US equities have stalled in recent days after rallying in the wake of Donald Trump's November 8 election as US president. Investors are betting on benefits from Trump's plans to cut taxes and regulations and introduce fresh economic stimulus.