Indian equity benchmarks added gains in morning deals as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expectedly left interest rates unchanged at 4 percent and maintained an accommodative policy stance to nurture a fragile economic recovery after the three-day meeting of its monetary policy committee (MPC). This came amid a sharp new wave of Covid-19 cases in several states and local lockdowns, reigniting uncertainty regarding economic outlook in the immediate term. The FY22 growth projection was also maintained at 10.5 per cent. Some support also came as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest report has projected an impressive 12.5 percent growth rate for India in 2021, stronger than that of China, the only major economy to have a positive growth rate last year during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman PC Mody said that the Centre’s tax resolution scheme Vivad Se Vishwas has resolved nearly a third of all direct tax disputes and has netted Rs 54,005 crore in tax revenue, 51% of which are from the central PSUs.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green following the IMF forecasting the strongest global expansion in at least four decades for this year. Traders are also looking ahead to the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, potentially shedding additional light on the outlook for interest rates. Back home, on the sectoral front, Aviation stocks remained in focus as Icra said India's domestic passenger traffic slipped to a 10-year low at an estimated 53.4 million in the just-concluded financial year. However, in the previous fiscal there were no passenger flight operations for almost two months due to the pandemic-induced lockdown.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49533.74, up by 332.35 points or 0.68% after trading in a range of 49093.90 and 49618.68. 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 0.47%, while Small cap index was up by 0.88%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.79%, Metal up by 1.60%, Energy up by 1.56%, Oil & Gas up by 1.35% and Consumer Durables up by 1.34%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 2.21%, Reliance Industries up by 2.12%, Nestle up by 2.11%, Titan Company up by 1.68% and SBI up by 1.55%. On the flip side, TCS down by 0.45%, Axis Bank down by 0.27%, HDFC Bank down by 0.15% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.10% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest report has projected an impressive 12.5 percent growth rate for India in 2021, stronger than that of China, the only major economy to have a positive growth rate last year during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also said the Indian economy is expected to grow by 6.9 percent in 2022. Notably in 2020, India's economy contracted by a record eight percent.
According to the report, China, on the other hand which was the only major economy to have a positive growth rate of 2.3 per cent in 2020, is expected to grow by 8.6 per cent in 2021 and 5.6 per cent in 2022. After an estimated contraction of 3.3 per cent in 2020, the global economy is projected to grow at 6 per cent in 2021, moderating to 4.4 per cent in 2022. In 2020, the global economy contracted by 3.3 per cent.
Nonetheless, it said the outlook presents daunting challenges related to divergences in the speed of recovery both across and within countries and the potential for persistent economic damage from the crisis.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14784.05, up by 100.55 points or 0.68% after trading in a range of 14649.85 and 14809.70. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 2.26%, JSW Steel up by 2.20%, Nestle up by 2.16%, Hindalco up by 2.15% and Reliance Industries up by 2.08%. On the flip side, Tata Consumer Product down by 1.05%, TCS down by 0.48%, Wipro down by 0.20%, Axis Bank down by 0.15% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.13% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 45.72 points or 0.15% to 29,742.35, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 37.59 points or 0.22% to 16,777.46, KOSPI rose 6.55 points or 0.21% to 3,133.63 and Jakarta Composite soared 0.55 points or 0.01% to 6,003.32.
On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 1.81 points or 0.06% to 3,205.82, Shanghai Composite declined 18.43 points or 0.53% to 3,464.54 and Hang Seng decreased 187.36 points or 0.65% to 28,751.38.