Indian equity benchmarks maintained gaining rally in late morning deals, as bulls held a tight grip over the Dalal Street. Positive cues from other Asian markets helped key indices to remain higher with strong gains. Domestic sentiments were positive, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 4.0 per cent. Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF remains unchanged at 3.35 per cent and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 4.25 per cent.
Firm trade continued in late morning deals, even after India's services sector activities eased in March as growth was hit by the detrimental impact of the coronavirus pandemic and input costs remained elevated. The seasonally-adjusted India Services Business Activity Index fell from 55.3 in February to 54.6 in March. Though the rates of expansion softened, it indicated growth for the sixth consecutive month. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion while a score below 50 denotes contraction.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after the private sector in Singapore continued to expand in March, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Markit Economics showed on Tuesday with a PMI score of 53.5. Individually, output and new order volumes increased for the fourth straight month, while there was stronger growth in staffing levels. Input price inflation softened in March but remained historically elevated.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49773.97, up by 572.58 points or 1.16% after trading in a range of 49093.90 and 49826.21. There were 29 stocks advancing against 1 stock declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.54%, while Small cap index was up by 1.16%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.13%, Energy up by 1.87%, PSU up by 1.55%, Metal up by 1.54% and Oil & Gas up by 1.45%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 2.69%, Power Grid up by 2.51%, Nestle up by 2.41%, SBI up by 2.41% and Bharti Airtel up by 2.39%. On the flip side, TCS down by 0.48% was the only loser.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 4.0 per cent. Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF remains unchanged at 3.35 per cent and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 4.25 per cent.
The monetary policy committee (MPC) of RBI also decided to continue with the accommodative stance as long as necessary to sustain growth on a durable basis and continue to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, while ensuring that inflation remains within the target going forward. These decisions are in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4 per cent within a band of +/- 2 per cent, while supporting growth.
On the economic growth front, the projection of real gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2021-22 is retained at 10.5 per cent consisting of 26.2 per cent in Q1, 8.3 per cent in Q2, 5.4 per cent in Q3 and 6.2 per cent in Q4. On the inflation front, CPI inflation is projected as 5.0 per cent in Q4:2020-21; 5.2 per cent in Q1:2021-22, 5.2 per cent in Q2, 4.4 per cent in Q3 and 5.1 per cent in Q4, with risks broadly balanced.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14851.30, up by 167.80 points or 1.14% after trading in a range of 14649.85 and 14867.55. There were 47 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 3.17%, Reliance Industries up by 2.63%, Power Grid up by 2.63%, SBI up by 2.52% and SBI Life Insurance up by 2.51%. On the flip side, Adani Ports down by 1.45%, Tata Consumer Products down by 0.67% and TCS down by 0.45% 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.