Bourses hold strong gains in late afternoon session

Indian equity bourses were holding their strong gains in late afternoon session, tracking firm European markets. Domestic sentiments were in cheerful mood, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the RBI will continue to unlock entrepreneurial energies and set the country firmly on track to become $5 trillion economy in the next five years. Adding more confident among traders, former president Pranab Mukherjee said the government's ambitious target of becoming a $ 5 trillion economy by 2024-25 is possible through prudent fiscal management.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, as the Czech Republic's economic sentiments rose to the highest level in three months in August. The survey results from the Czech Statistical Office showed that the economic sentiment index rose to 95.6 in August from 95.1 in July. The latest increase was the highest since May, when it was 95.7. However, Asian markets were trading in red.

Back home, stocks related to the leather industry were in watch, after Council for Leather Exports (CLE) said that the measures announced by the government to push economic growth will help attract investments and boost exports of leather sector.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37423.65, up by 722.49 points or 1.97% after trading in a range of 36492.65 and 37544.48. There were 22 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.39%, while Small cap index was up by 1.54%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 3.11%, Realty up by 3.08%, Capital Goods up by 2.71%, Industrials up by 2.25% and Consumer Durables up by 1.77%, while Metal down by 1.34% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 5.74%, HDFC up by 4.49%, HDFC Bank up by 4.12%, Larsen & Toubro up by 4.01% and Bajaj Finance up by 3.45%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.05%, Sun Pharma down by 1.96%, Vedanta down by 1.78%, Tata Steel down by 1.67% and Bajaj Auto down by 0.38% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, terming last quarter’s slowdown as temporary, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has said that the RBI will continue to unlock entrepreneurial energies and set the country firmly on track to become $5 trillion economy in the next five years. The Governor is expecting the economy to end the fiscal with higher growth rate of close to 7 per cent. 

Shaktikanta Das further noted that stimulating demand is currently the overriding priority of both the Government and the RBI. He added that with the budget for the remaining part of the fiscal announced, government spending would see a boost, which will have salutary impact on the economy.

He also mentioned that while some NBFCs had not done well, there were others that had good balance sheets and were performing well. Besides, Das said that the RBI is monitoring NBFCs and Housing Finance Companies that account for bulk of the credit from NBFCs and were systematically important.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11037.80, up by 208.45 points or 1.92% after trading in a range of 10756.55 and 11070.30. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 5.99%, Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 5.93%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 5.25%, HDFC up by 4.41% and HDFC Bank up by 4.27%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 3.38%, Tata Steel down by 2.27%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.02%, Sun Pharma down by 1.94% and Vedanta down by 1.89% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in red; Hang Seng decreased 749.70 points or 2.86% to 25,429.63, Nikkei 225 slipped 449.87 points or 2.17% to 20,261.04, Shanghai Composite declined 39.05 points or 1.35% to 2,858.38, Taiwan Weighted dropped 183.54 points or 1.74% to 10,354.57, KOSPI fell 31.99 points or 1.64% to 1,916.31, Jakarta Composite lost 58.65 points or 0.94% to 6,196.95 and Straits Times was down by 48.78 points or 1.57% to 3,061.57.

European markets were trading in green; CAC rose 32.21 points or 0.60% to 5,359.08 and DAX was up by 34.44 points or 0.30% to 11,645.95.