The Indian equity benchmarks continued their trade in positive territory in late afternoon session. Traders were seen piling up positions in Metal, Auto and IT sectors while selling was witnessed in Healthcare and Energy sector stocks. Traders overlooked Fitch Solutions forecasted real GDP to grow 9.5 per cent in 2021-22 (April 2021 to March 2022). Risks to this forecast are to the downside, as the surge in new daily COVID-19 caseloads will most likely see an extension and expansion of lockdowns. It said that the resurgence of COVID-19 cases exposed cracks in the Indian healthcare system. Meanwhile, in order to prevent the COVID-induced health crisis from turning into a full-blown economic catastrophe, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asked multilateral lending institutions like the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to extend support to developing countries.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as investors welcomed a strong jobs report from the United States that reinforced optimism that the world's top economy is well on the recovery track, though inflation concerns continue to dog trading floors. European markets were trading higher as strong earnings reports from AB Inbev and several eurozone banks added to an upbeat mood sparked by solid economic data.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 48865.90, up by 188.35 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 48614.11 and 48980.69. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.60%, while Small cap index was up by 0.48%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.43%, Auto up by 1.43%, IT up by 1.36%, Basic Materials up by 1.17% and TECK was up by 1.12%, while Healthcare down by 0.18% and Energy was down by 0.10% were the only losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Auto up by 2.40%, HDFC up by 1.74%, Infosys up by 1.34%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.28% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.22%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.31%, ONGC down by 1.26%, Sun Pharma down by 1.00%, Asian Paints down by 0.88% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.76% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, with an aim to foster the innovative ecosystem in India, the Union Cabinet has given ex-post facto approval to the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of Republic of India and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom on Global Innovation Partnership (GIP).
GIP innovations will focus on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) related sectors thereby assisting recipient countries achieve their SDGs. Through seed funding, grants, investments and technical assistance, the partnership will support Indian entrepreneurs and innovators to test, scale up and take their innovative development solutions to select developing countries.
The innovations selected under GIP would accelerate the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals and benefit the base of the pyramid populations thus promoting equity and inclusivity in recipient countries. GIP will also develop an open and inclusive e-market place (E-BAAZAR) for cross border innovation transfer and will focus on results based impact assessment thereby promoting transparency and accountability.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14691.60, up by 73.75 points or 0.50% after trading in a range of 14611.50 and 14725.05. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 4.48%, Wipro up by 4.26%, Hero MotoCorp up by 3.92%, Tata Steel up by 2.82% and Bajaj Auto up by 2.55%. On the flip side, UPL down by 1.72%, Power Grid down by 1.37%, ONGC down by 1.22%, Sun Pharma down by 0.96% and Asian Paints down by 0.89% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Nikkei 225 surged 518.74 points or 1.8% to 29,331.37, Hang Seng increased 219.48 points or 0.77% to 28,637.46, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 150.92 points or 0.9% to 16,994.36, KOSPI rose 31.37 points or 1% to 3,178.74 and Straits Times was up by 19.96 points or 0.63% to 3,173.55. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 5.58 points or 0.16% to 3,441.28 and Jakarta Composite was down by 5.67 points or 0.09% to 5,970.24.
European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 18.35 points or 0.26% to 7,057.65, France’s CAC increased 26.01 points or 0.41% to 6,365.48 and Germany’s DAX was up by 78.95 points or 0.52% to 15,249.73.