Indian equity benchmarks extended early gains in morning session, on sustained buying by funds and retail investors in frontline blue-chip stocks. Sentiments remained up-beat with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stating that India's economy is on the path of gradual recovery, real GDP growth, return to positive territory in fourth quarter of 2020. And that's for the first time actually since the start of the pandemic and it's supported by a pickup in gross, fixed capital formation. Some optimism also came with Chief Economic Advisor K V Subramanian’s statement that the investment climate is going well in India and the private sector should skill their workforce in the interest of its business. Market participants also took a note of former RBI Governor D Subbarao stating that inflation targeting has worked well and the government must stay with it, and the framework is going to work well in the period ahead also. He also said low inflation contributes to sustainable growth.
On the global front, Asian markets are trading higher, thanks to a late-day rally on Wall Street as optimism about the global economic recovery was overshadowed by rising tensions between the West and China. Back home, on the sectoral front, Telecom stocks remained in limelight as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) secretary S.K Gupta said India is poised to play a decisive role in the new era of 5G, given inherent strengths in digital and software capabilities, while liberal FDI regime, progressive manufacturing programmes, and resolve for self-reliance would usher large investments and growth in the telecom market.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 48951.57, up by 511.45 points or 1.06% after trading in a range of 48699.91 and 49044.44. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.17%, while Small cap index was up by 1.01%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.60%, Consumer Durables up by 1.96%, Basic Materials up by 1.65%, Realty up by 1.62% and Consumer discretionary up by 1.57%, while Power down by 0.04% was the only losing index on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 3.95%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.69%, Asian Paints up by 2.53%, Titan Company up by 2.24% and Hindustan Unilever up by 2.15%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.45%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.48%, TCS down by 0.07% and Reliance Industries down by 0.00% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) secretary S.K Gupta has said that India is poised to play a decisive role in the new era of 5G, given inherent strengths in digital and software capabilities, while liberal FDI regime, progressive manufacturing programmes, and resolve for self-reliance would usher large investments and growth in the telecom market.
Gupta said the heavy dependence on the import of telecom equipment has been a point of concern, given financial impact and security implications, and a well-planned and focused approach on indigenous production will be the way forward. He also said this particularly so, as existing global supply chains are getting disrupted and new opportunities are emerging in telecom development. He said ‘while there has been an exponential growth of telecom networks, we are hugely dependent on the import of telecom equipment'. He pointed out that telecom imports have been in the range of 1 lakh crore plus every year which is a point of concern.
TRAI secretary further said the focus now is on boosting the production of equipment in India and becoming self-reliant. He noted that import of telecom equipment not only has an adverse financial impact but also raises security concerns. He stated that the risk associated with the concentration of supply chain in a few geographies have attracted the attention of world leaders. He added that the existing wide base of telecom and internet subscribers, affordable broadband services, combined with the power of advanced technologies like cloud, Artificial Intelligence, and platforms are paving the way for a digitally-strong ‘new India’.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14487.40, up by 162.50 points or 1.13% after trading in a range of 14414.25 and 14515.75. There were 46 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 4.13%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.88%, Tata Motors up by 3.31%, Hindalco up by 2.91% and Bajaj Auto up by 2.67%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.46%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.56%, Cipla down by 0.37% and UPL down by 0.36% were the top losers.
Asian markets are trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 418.29 points or 1.46% to 29,148.17, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 253.86 points or 1.58% to 16,314.00, Straits Times advanced 13.37 points or 0.43% to 3,155.08, Hang Seng increased 318.70 points or 1.14% to 28,218.31, KOSPI rose 26.72 points or 0.89% to 3,035.05, Shanghai Composite gained 46.18 points or 1.37% to 3,409.77 and Jakarta Composite soared 50.33 points or 0.82% to 6,173.21.