Indian equity benchmarks were trading near their neutral lines in green terrain during late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading marginally higher. Negative cues from other Asian markets impacted sentiments over the street. Traders were cautious, amid a private report stating that the 'second wave' of the pandemic is delaying business normalization in the country, as coronavirus infections rise in Maharashtra and other states. The Nomura India Business Resumption Index dipped to 95.1 for the week to March 21 from 95.4 in the previous week as a result of the rising infections.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, after Japan's leading index rose less than initially estimated in January. The final data from the Cabinet Office showed that the leading index, which measures the future economic activity, rose to 98.5 in January, the highest since October 2018, from 97.7 in the previous month. However, the score was revised down from 99.1. The coincident index came in at revised 90.3 versus 87.4 a month ago. The flash reading was 91.7.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49790.55, up by 19.26 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 49661.92 and 50227.03. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.64%, while Small cap index up by 0.47%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 1.02%, Energy up by 0.98%, Power up by 0.92%, Capital Goods up by 0.53% and Realty up by 0.53%, while Telecom down by 0.79%, Metal down by 0.56%, TECK down by 0.43%, IT down by 0.31% and Oil & Gas down by 0.18% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 1.24%, Reliance Industries up by 1.13%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.11%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.09% and SBI up by 0.90%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.52%, HDFC down by 1.40%, NTPC down by 1.23%, ITC down by 1.13% and Sun Pharma down by 1.12% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry’s (FICCI's) latest quarterly survey on manufacturing has assessed recovery of the sector for Q-3 (October-December 2020-21) and pointed that it is expected to regain the lost momentum in the Q-4. The percentage of respondents reporting higher production in the third quarter of 2020-21 had increased vis-a-vis the Q-2 of 2020-21. The proportion of respondents reporting higher output during October-December 2020 rose to 33 per cent, as compared to 24 per cent in Q-2 of 2020-21. The percentage of respondents expecting low or same production is 67 per cent in Q-3 2020-21 which was 74 per cent in Q-2 2020-21.
FICCI's survey assessed the sentiments for the next quarter (Q-4) for 12 major sectors namely automotive, capital goods, cement and ceramics, chemicals, fertilizers and pharmaceuticals, electronics and electricals, leather and footwear, medical devices, metal & metal products, paper products, textiles, textile machinery, and miscellaneous. Responses have been drawn from over 300 manufacturing units from both large and SME segments with a combined annual turnover of around Rs 5.3 lakh crore. As per the survey, the overall capacity utilization in manufacturing has witnessed a rise to 74 per cent as compared to 65 per cent in previous quarter. The future investment outlook, however, looks slightly better as 30 per cent respondents reported plans for capacity additions for the next six months as compared to 18 per cent in the previous quarter.
High raw material prices, high cost of finance, shortage of skilled labour and working capital, high logistics cost, low domestic and global demand due to imposition of lockdown across all countries to contain spread of coronavirus, excess capacities due to high volume of cheap imports into India, lack of financial assistance, uncertain demand scenario across globe, complex procedures for obtaining environmental clearances, high power tariff, are some of the major constraints which are affecting expansion plans of the respondents. The survey indicated that capacity utilisation witnessed a jump in Q3 for automotive, capital goods, electronics and electrical, medical devices sectors such hike it remained slow or subdued in textile and leather sectors.
The percentage of respondents expecting increase in exports has increased substantially to 29 per cent when compared to previous quarters during lockdown period, wherein 24 per cent respondents were expecting a rise in exports. Also, 34 per cent are expecting exports to continue to be on the same path as that of same quarter last year. The hiring outlook for the sector also seems to be improving, as 37 per cent against 20 per cent in the previous quarter are planning to hire additional workforce. The survey indicated based on expectations in different sectors, sectors such as Medical Devices, Chemicals, Fertilizers and Pharmaceuticals, Textile Machinery, Electronics and Electricals, Capital Goods and Metal and Metal Products are likely to register strong growth in Q-3 2020-21.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14757.30, up by 20.90 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 14707.00 and 14867.75. There were 24 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.96%, Shree Cement up by 2.15%, Divis Lab up by 1.53%, Indusind Bank up by 1.45% and Tata Motors up by 1.40%. On the flip side, Indian Oil Corporation down by 2.42%, Hindalco down by 1.55%, Power Grid down by 1.45%, GAIL India down by 1.39% and Sun Pharma down by 1.22% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 339.63 points or 1.18% to 28,545.71, Nikkei 225 slipped 137.05 points or 0.47% to 29,037.10, Shanghai Composite declined 40.88 points or 1.19% to 3,402.56, KOSPI fell 26.64 points or 0.88% to 3,008.82 and Jakarta Composite lost 11.71 points or 0.19% to 6,289.42. On the flip side, Straits Times advanced 7.84 points or 0.25% to 3,135.92 and Taiwan Weighted strengthened 11.62 points or 0.07% to 16,200.84.