Indian share markets gathered some momentum in the afternoon session to finish above the dotted line amid firm global markets. At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex closed higher by 117 points and the NSE Nifty finished up by 38 points. The S&P BSE Mid Cap finished up by 0.5% while S&P BSE Small Cap finished up by 0.1%. Gains were largely seen in realty stocks, software stocks and power stocks.

Asian stock markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Nikkei 225 gained 1.11% as a landslide election victory for the country’s ruling party set the benchmark index there on course for a record 15th session of consecutive gains. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.06% and the Hang Seng lost 0.64%. European markets are higher today with shares in Germany leading the region. The DAX is up 0.40% while France’s CAC 40 is up 0.19% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.10%.

Rupee was trading at Rs 65.02 against the US$ in the afternoon session. Oil prices were trading at US$ 51.87 at the time of writing.

In news from the economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the Indian economy is on track and is going in the right direction on back of various reforms and hard decisions. He also assured that the government will continue to take important decisions regarding the economic reforms and further noted that while initiating these measures the government would maintain financial stability of the country.

Narendra Modi further mentioned that the production of coal, natural gas, electricity and other items has increased enormously, adding that foreign investors are also making record investments in the country. He highlighted that the country’s foreign exchange reserves have jumped to US$400 billion from US$300 billion.

The Prime Minister also tried to assure the traders over the Goods and Service Tax (GST), saying that their past records will not be checked by the Income Tax department if they join the formal economy by getting themselves registered under the new tax regime.