Local equities continued to trade lower in late afternoon session. Metal, Bankex and Consumer Durables shares saw selling pressure. However, strength was visible in the broader markets with the S&P BSE Mid-cap index and the S&P BSE Small-cap index gaining above half a percent each in trade. Traders paid no heed towards private report that India seems to be the new global hotspot for corporate unicorns. The country is home to the third-largest number of such privately-held companies with a valuation of $1 billion or more, behind the United States and China. Besides India’s entrepreneurial spirit, credit needs to be given to the government for streamlining the regulatory environment to facilitate this.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, as investor optimism around the passage of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill in the United States. European markets were trading mostly in green as strong corporate earnings supported sentiment, while investors awaited fresh U.S. inflation data for clues on the interest rate outlook.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60336.13, down by 209.48 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 60213.64 and 60670.47. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.70%, while Small cap index was up by 0.69%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 1.43%, Capital Goods up by 1.20%, Auto up by 0.69%, Oil & Gas up by 0.60% and Healthcare was up by 0.55%, while Metal down by 0.93%, Bankex down by 0.42%, Consumer Durables down by 0.34% and FMCG was down by 0.32% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.69%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.50%, SBI up by 0.91%, ICICI Bank up by 0.61% and Indusind Bank up by 0.38%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 1.67%, HDFC down by 1.56%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.54%, Power Grid down by 1.53% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.25% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's consistent focus on infrastructure, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal has said that India is committed to build modern infrastructure for the 21st century, at a pace never seen before.
The Minister said that the inputs given by Logistics Ease Across Different States Report 2021 can lead the way to bring down logistics cost by 5% over the next 5 years. Referring to the recently launched PM GatiShakti Master Plan, he said that it would revolutionise the next generation of multimodal infrastructure development in the country.
Besides, Goyal emphasized that efficient logistics was pivotal to bring ease and empowerment to businesses as well as citizens. He observed that logistics contributed immensely in fight against COVID-19 by taking essential supplies including liquid Medical Oxygen throughout the country during the 2nd wave.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18019.15, down by 49.40 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 17983.05 and 18112.60. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 2.21%, Divi's Lab up by 1.88%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.66%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.35% and Grasim Industries up by 1.09%. On the flip side, Britannia down by 2.47%, HDFC Bank down by 1.71%, Power Grid down by 1.59%, HDFC down by 1.56% and Maruti Suzuki down by 1.56% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 126.06 points or 0.72% to 17,541.36, Hang Seng increased 49.36 points or 0.2% to 24,813.13, Jakarta Composite soared 37.62 points or 0.57% to 6,669.92, Shanghai Composite gained 8.37 points or 0.24% to 3,507.00 and KOSPI was up by 2.26 points or 0.08% to 2,962.46. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 19.77 points or 0.61% to 3,244.13 and Nikkei 225 was down by 221.59 points or 0.75% to 29,285.46.
European markets were trading mostly in green, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 7.03 points or 0.1% to 7,307.43 and Germany’s DAX was up by 13.47 points or 0.08% to 16,059.99. On the flip side, France’s CAC was down by 6.58 points or 0.09% to 7,040.90.