Indian stock markets continued to trade in positive terrain in the noon session due to buying in realty, utilities and auto stocks. Buying in frontline stocks such as Maruti Suzuki, NTPC and Titan Company were aiding sentiment, while selling in Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra and Tata Steel kept the gains in the markets in check. Sentiments were positive as provisional data released by the government showed that India’s merchandise exports in October rose 42.33 per cent to $35.47 billion. The exports stood at $24.92 billion in October 2020 and $26.23 billion in October 2019. However, upside remain capped as traders were taking cautious approach ahead of FOMC meet starting today. The Fed is widely expected to announce tapering its bond buying program starting this month.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower policy meeting by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Back home, public issue of Sigachi Industries was subscribed more than 9 times on the first day of sale while the IPO of Policybazaar was subscribed 0.54 times. The third IPO that opened yesterday, SJS Enterprises, was bid for 0.32 times by investors. Retail investors have oversubscribed their portion in Policybazaar and Sigachi Industries’ IPO. Meanwhile, Nykaa’s IPO closed yesterday with subscription tally reaching 82.42 times.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60182.17, up by 43.71 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 59918.85 and 60421.14. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.29%, while Small cap index up by 1.09%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.44%, Utilities up by 1.07%, Auto up by 1.00%, Power up by 0.86%, Consumer Discretionary was up by 0.80%, while Energy down by 0.74%, Metal down by 0.73%, Healthcare down by 0.60%, Basic Materials down by 0.39% FMCG was down by 0.08% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 2.82%, NTPC up by 1.60%, Titan Company up by 1.50%, SBI up by 1.14% and Bajaj Auto was up by 0.95%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.43%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.88%, Tata Steel down by 1.65%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.24% and Reliance Industries was down by 0.97% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, asserting that infrastructure projects are a priority for the government, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has reviewed the progress of capital expenditure by the ministries of power and coal and asked them to ensure that project implementation is fast-tracked.
The finance minister emphasized there must be close monitoring for infrastructure spending on-ground and ministries must continuously make concerted efforts, including enhanced coordination with all states, to ensure that project implementation is fast-tracked. She directed officials in Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) to work in close coordination with ministries /departments to ensure that project implementation via civil works is not hampered due to any lack of coordination amongst agencies (like contractors), or by delay in procurement of necessary equipment from international markets.
Sitharaman observed that it must increase outreach to states to facilitate project implementation by obtaining necessary clearances in time. She said efforts must be made to ensure timely completion of projects. In review with the Department of Atomic Energy, the finance minister stressed on the need to track civil works closely and take proactive steps regarding procurement of key international equipment in coordination with external affairs and economic affairs departments.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17948.35, up by 18.70 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 17872.25 and 18012.25. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 2.78%, NTPC up by 1.94%, Titan Co up by 1.73%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.36% and SBI up by 1.14%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.58%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.66%, Tata Steel down by 1.53%, JSW Steel down by 1.45% and Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.26% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly lower; Jakarta Composite lost 28.47 points or 0.43% to 6,524.42, Nikkei 225 slipped 126.18 points or 0.43% to 29,520.90, Taiwan Weighted dropped 2.27 points or 0.01% to 17,065.97, Shanghai Composite declined 54.24 points or 1.53% to 3,490.24 and Hang Seng was down by 45.14 points or 0.18% to 25,109.18.
On the flip side; Straits Times advanced 3.65 points or 0.11% to 3,222.70 and KOSPI was up by 35.88 points or 1.2% to 3,014.82.
