Indian equity benchmarks made positive start on Tuesday, after having suffered heavy losses the previous day, amid gains in Asian peers. Markets are trading higher with gains of around half a percent each in early deals on the back of board based buying in Metal, Realty and PSU counters. Market participants took note of report that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das notified bankers to remain watchful of the evolving pandemic situation and also ensure credit flow to different sectors, including to stressed sectors, small borrowers and retail. Traders overlooked weak macro-economic data. Industrial production declined for the second month in a row in February at a faster rate of 3.6 per cent than 0.9 per cent in the previous month. The retail price inflation rate rose to a four-month high of 5.52 per cent in March due to upward movement in core as well as food rates, barring vegetables and cereals. Meanwhile, India recorded a massive surge of 160,694 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours.
On the global front, most of the Asian markets were trading higher as traders are optimistic on a faster global economic recovery after last week's reiterations from the U.S. on a positive outlook for the economy and are cautiously positive ahead of U.S. earnings season and release of key inflation data. However, the cues overnight from Wall Street were weak. Back home, sugar stocks were in focus as trade body AISTA said sugar mills have exported 2.49 million tonnes of the sweetener so far in the ongoing 2020-21 marketing year ending September, with maximum shipments to Indonesia. In scrip specific development, Yes Bank gained as it will move the SAT Tribunal against a Rs 25 crore fine imposed by SEBI for allegedly mis-selling its AT-1 bonds. However, TCS tumbled despite reporting a 15 percent rise in Q4 profit.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 48120.26, up by 236.88 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 47775.32 and 48148.94. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.05%, while Small cap index was up by 1.32%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.39%, Realty up by 2.18%, PSU up by 1.97%, Basic Materials up by 1.86%, Oil & Gas up by 1.74%, while IT down by 1.79%, TECK down by 1.49%, Healthcare down by 0.01% were the few losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.77%, ONGC up by 3.72%, Titan Company up by 2.52%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.25% and Bajaj Finance up by 2.12%. On the flip side, TCS down by 3.68%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 2.73%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.61%, Infosys down by 1.65% and HCL Technologies down by 0.32% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has told bank chiefs to ensure business continuity and credit flows to underpin the nascent economic recovery even as an alarming second wave of infections is raising afresh disruption risks in Asia’s third-biggest economy. He stressed the need to raise capital for buttressing balance sheets and creating buffers against possible business losses.
In the customary post-monetary policy interaction with top bank executives, Governor discussed the liquidity scenario and monetary transmission and urged bankers to grow lending to MSMEs, retail as well as the stressed sectors. He took note of credit growth reported by individual banks and their asset quality and capital adequacy parameters.
Das emphasised the need for banks to maintain a close vigil on the payments and other IT systems operated by banks and fortifying those for enhanced efficiency and resilience so as to offer seamless and uninterrupted customer service.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14402.05, up by 91.25 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 14274.90 and 14403.80. There were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 3.88%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.86%, UPL up by 3.71%, Hindalco up by 3.30% and JSW Steel up by 3.23%. On the flip side, TCS down by 3.77%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 2.75%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.58%, Infosys down by 1.73% and Divis Lab down by 0.47% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 301.54 points or 1.02% to 29,840.27, Straits Times added 8.97 points or 0.28% to 3,182.90, Hang Seng jumped 295.91 points or 1.04% to 28,749.19, Taiwan Weighted rose 124.46 points or 0.74% to 16,984.16, and KOSPI soared 33.65 points or 1.07% to 3,169.24. However, Jakarta Composite fell 43.56 points or 0.73% to 5,905.01 and Shanghai Composite was down by 0.28 points or 0.01% to 3,412.67.