Indian equity benchmarks added losses in morning deals, dragged by selling in Energy, Banking, Consumer Durables and Telecom stocks. Sentiments remained down-beat with report that the International Monetary Fund pointed to emerging signs of a stronger global economic recovery, but warned that significant risks remained, including the emergence of mutations of the coronavirus. Traders overlooked Sebi data showing that investments through participatory notes (P-notes) in the Indian capital market rose to Rs 91,658 crore at February-end, making it the highest level in 33 months, suggesting growing confidence of overseas investors. Traders also took a note of the article on the 'State of Economy' written by RBI Deputy Governor M D Patra and other officials stated that amid ominous signs of a possible second wave of COVID-19, the country needs to speed up vaccination drive.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red on weakness across the board as investors continue to be concerned about a recent surge in global bond yields and the prospects of a global economic recovers. Back home, Jewellery stocks remained in focus as the commerce ministry data showed that gold imports fell 3.3 percent to $6.11 billion during April-February 2020-21. Imports of the yellow metal stood at $27 billion in April-February 2019-20. The decline in gold imports has helped in narrowing the country’s trade deficit to $84.62 billion during the 11-month of the current fiscal, as against $151.37 billion a year ago.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49590.64, down by 267.60 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 49460.90 and 49878.77. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.47%, while Small cap index was up by 0.59%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.37%, Power up by 0.84%, Healthcare up by 0.68%, Basic Materials up by 0.52% and FMCG up by 0.48%, while Energy down by 0.97%, Bankex down by 0.75%, Consumer Durables down by 0.65%, Telecom down by 0.28% and PSU down by 0.23% were the losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 1.60%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.25%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.02%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.70% and NTPC up by 0.51%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.76%, Indusind Bank down by 1.68%, Reliance Industries down by 1.68%, Axis Bank down by 1.14% and HDFC Bank down by 1.04% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar has said that India needs to grow at 10.5-11 percent in real terms in FY22 and then sustain that to overcome massive ill-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also said India needs to be prepared for the next pandemic as the country was caught unprepared during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also said India's economy is estimated to contract 8 percent in fiscal 2020-21.
The Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman has stated that the Indian economy is now surging towards a recovery. Noting that the business as usual will not do, he said there is a need to reduce the size of India's informal economy. He pointed out that corporations and the government are fighting the pandemic together. Development agenda cannot be entirely advanced by the government alone. Political leaders and corporate leaders need to work together.
Observing that India's political leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi, had no qualms in working with corporate leaders, he said, ‘It is time again to rekindle that. Time therefore to get over this nonsense of calling names of corporate leaders or mistrusting the corporate leaders’. He noted that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the bridge between corporate and society.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14691.70, down by 52.30 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 14644.95 and 14763.90. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports &Special up by 2.25%, Cipla up by 2.04%, Divis Lab up by 1.74%, Sun Pharma up by 1.58% and BPCL up by 1.32%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.82%, Indusind Bank down by 1.77%, Reliance Industries down by 1.74%, Tata Motors down by 1.20% and HDFC Bank down by 1.15% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 585.42 points or 1.97% to 29,206.63, Hang Seng decreased 53.22 points or 0.18% to 28,937.72, Jakarta Composite lost 42.70 points or 0.67% to 6,313.46 and KOSPI fell 1.42 points or 0.05% to 3,038.11.
On the other hand, Straits Times advanced 7.58 points or 0.24% to 3,142.12, Shanghai Composite gained 29.13 points or 0.86% to 3,433.79 and Taiwan Weighted strengthened 130.31 points or 0.81% to 16,200.55.