Indian equity benchmarks managed to keep heads in green terrain in morning session, after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI's) Monetary Policy Committee has kept policy rates unchanged once again at its bi-monthly review. The Repo rate has been maintained at 4% while the reverse repo rate is at 3.35%. Policy stance has been maintained at accommodative by the central bank in an effort to maintain liquidity in the system as the country continues to recover from the covid-19 pandemic and its economic implications. Traders also took a note of NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant’s statement that in order to shape a post-COVID reality, there is no way out for India but growth. He also emphasised that India has an opportunity to usher in change that will see its society transform within a generation. Meanwhile, as many as 50,000 startups have been recognized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to date. With the launch of the Startup India initiative, recognized startups have now spread across 623 districts and each state and Union Territory has at least one startup, and 30 states and UTs have announced specific startup policies to support them.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red following the negative cues overnight from Wall Street, due to sliding commodity prices on the back of a stronger US dollar and higher US yields. Meanwhile, traders keenly await the monthly US jobs report which could offer cues on the economic recovery and the interest rate outlook. Back home, on the sectoral front, stocks related telecom sector remained in focus as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued operational guidelines for the Rs 12,195-crore PLI scheme for the telecom sector. The scheme, which will be effective from April 1, 2021, will provide incentives to eligible companies on their investments and incremental sale, from the ongoing financial year till 2025-26.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 52341.49, up by 109.06 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 52205.73 and 52389.02. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.59%, while Small cap index was up by 0.83%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.07%, Oil & Gas up by 0.99%, Capital Goods up by 0.93%, Industrials up by 0.80% and Consumer Discretionary up by 0.78%, while Metal down by 0.12% and FMCG down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 1.72%, Asian Paints up by 1.38%, ONGC up by 1.14%, HDFC up by 0.88% and Indusind Bank up by 0.76%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.10%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.58%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.49%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.35% and Titan Co down by 0.30% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, Chief Economic Advisor KV Subramanian has said the second wave of COVID-19 has affected the momentum of economic recovery. However, he also pointed that he expects a recovery in the economy from July onwards. He stated ‘now, several states have started removing many restrictions and if we speed up the vaccination drive in our country, our economy will start recovering.’
Talking about the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive in the country, He said, ‘India will be able to achieve vaccination for all by December. If we vaccinate people in three shifts each day, then, we can vaccinate 1 crore people in a day. This is definitely ambitious, but not impossible. I have taken both doses of vaccine and appeal to all to get themselves vaccinated as soon as possible.’
He mentioned that the ongoing vaccination drive can significantly 'lower down' the impact of the pandemic. Thus, the more people are vaccinated, the more it will lower down the impact of the third wave and will not be as harmful as expected. Besides, He said that COVID-19 is not going to impact country’s fiscal deficit target and disinvestment target.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15704.55, up by 14.20 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 15680.15 and 15733.60. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 2.52%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.69%, Asian Paints up by 1.36%, ONGC up by 1.27% and Indian Oil Corporation up by 1.20%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.10%, Tata Steel down by 0.72%, Hindalco down by 0.64%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.60% and JSW Steel down by 0.47% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted dropped 118.43 points or 0.69% to 17,127.73, Nikkei 225 slipped 115.49 points or 0.4% to 28,942.62, Jakarta Composite lost 33.09 points or 0.54% to 6,058.42, KOSPI fell 3.37 points or 0.1% to 3,244.06 and Straits Times trembled 2.81 points or 0.09% to 3,162.19.
On the flip side, Shanghai Composite gained 5.07 points or 0.14% to 3,589.28 and Hang Seng increased 41.29 points or 0.14% to 29,007.32.