Firm trade continued over the Dalal Street in late morning deals, with both Sensex and Nifty holding notable gains. Positive Cues from other Asian markets helped key indices to remain higher. Traders were positive, as the Finance Ministry has released the second monthly installment of revenue deficit grant of Rs 9,871 crore to 17 states. With the release of the second installment, a total amount of Rs 19,742 crore has been released in the first two months of the current financial year as Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant to the states. The Centre provides the Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant to the states under Article 275 of the Constitution.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after China's exports grew more than expected in April as global demand remained strong. The data from the General Administration of Customs revealed that exports advanced 32.3 percent on a yearly basis in April. Likewise, imports surged 43.1 percent from the previous year versus the expected growth of 42.5 percent. Imports had advanced 38.1 percent in March.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49265.02, up by 315.26 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 49169.14 and 49417.64. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.24%, while Small cap index was up by 0.53%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.56%, Basic Materials up by 1.72%, Realty up by 1.55%, Telecom up by 1.15% and Power up by 0.75%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.21% was the only losing index on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.52%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.07%, ITC up by 1.55%, HDFC Bank up by 1.54% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.44%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 1.54%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.33%, Infosys down by 0.25%, ICICI Bank down by 0.21% and ONGC down by 0.18% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, raising concerns, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has said that restrictions following the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic could impact energy demand growth recovery in the first quarter of this financial year (Q1FY22). It said the lockdowns on account of an increase in COVID-19 cases in various states could impact energy demand growth recovery in Q1 FY22 (April-June 2022), although all-India energy demand is expected to be higher on a year-on-year basis due to the low base effect as the country was under a stricter lockdown during the same period in 2020.
The short-term power price at Indian Energy Exchange continued its improving trend on a y-o-y basis (March 2021: Rs 4.07/unit; March 2020: Rs 2.46/kWh) with average monthly price in April 2021 at Rs 3.7/kWh. The electricity generation increased 23.5 per cent on a yearly basis to 118.6 billion units in March 2021, supported by 29.2 per cent growth in thermal generation, although hydro generation fell 7.8 per cent. Electricity generation from renewable sources increased 10.1 per cent to 11.9 billion units in March 2021, with solar generation increasing 21 per cent. The improvement in energy demand and the reduced generation from hydro and renewables sources have helped the thermal plant load factor (PLF) increase to 66.5 per cent in March 2021 (March 2020: 51.5 per cent; February 2021: 63.3 per cent), it said.
As per the report, in March 2021, the thermal sector's PLF (plant load factor or capacity utilisation) rose on a y-o-y basis across the central, state and private sectors, increasing to 80.4 per cent, 63.2 per cent and 57.9 per cent, respectively. Despite the onset of summer season, the imposition of stricter lockdowns in major manufacturing states could impact demand from industrial segment which will impact thermal PLFs. The ratings agency has published the April 2021 edition of its credit news digest on India's power sector. The report highlights the trends in the power sector, with a focus on capacity addition, generation, transmission, merchant power, deficit, regulatory changes and the recent rating actions by Ind-Ra.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14823.75, up by 98.95 points or 0.67% after trading in a range of 14790.85 and 14863.05. There were 37 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 5.00%, SBI Life Insurance up by 3.30%, JSW Steel up by 2.52%, Hindalco up by 2.49% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.45%. On the flip side, Tata Consumer Products down by 4.39%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.48%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.47%, Eicher Motors down by 1.06% and BPCL down by 0.59% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 added 29.41 points or 0.10% to 29,360.78, Straits Times jumped 23.84 points or 0.75% to 3,196.84, Hang Seng rose 143.46 points or 0.50% to 28,780.92, Taiwan Weighted surged 180.65 points or 1.06% to 17,175.01, KOSPI advanced 17.64 points or 0.55% to 3,196.38 and Shanghai Composite was up by 14.51 points or 0.42% to 3,455.79, while Jakarta Composite fell 22.53 points or 0.38% to 5,947.71.