Benchmarks trim some gains in late afternoon session

Indian benchmarks trimmed some of their initial gains and continued their trade in green territory in late afternoon session. Traders were seen piling up positions in IT, TECK and Oil & Gas sector while selling was witnessed in Realty, FMCG and Bankex sector stocks. Some cautiousness came after Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has said that India’s exports are likely to witness a 10-12% year-on-year decline during the ongoing fiscal (FY 2020-21), if the current trend persists. However, markets continued to show a positive trend, as some comfort came with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that India is keen to focus on certain sectors where it has competitive advantage, emphasising that the country cannot afford to remain dependent on low cost, low quality products. Traders took note of report that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that the government was in talks with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a one-time restructuring of loans to help companies which are under stressed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher despite resurgence in U.S. COVID-19 cases and its impact on the global economy. Back home, sector wise, sugar stocks remained in focus with industry body ISMA’s statement that sugar output in India, the world's second largest producer after Brazil, is expected to increase by 17.69% to 32.01 million tonnes during the season beginning October 2020 on likely higher availability of sugarcane for crushing.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35036.14, up by 194.04 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 34910.34 and 35241.04. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.28%, while Small cap index was up by 0.29%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 4.90%, TECK up by 3.98%, Oil & Gas up by 2.59%, PSU up by 1.38% and Energy was up by 1.01%, while Realty down by 0.95%, FMCG down by 0.90%, Bankex down by 0.54%, Healthcare down by 0.54% and Consumer Durables was down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 6.58%, TCS up by 4.75%, ONGC up by 3.24%, HCL Tech up by 2.72% and Indusind Bank up by 2.44%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.46%, Bajaj Finance down by 3.21%, ITC down by 2.42%, Sun Pharma down by 1.89% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.50% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, minister of state for Defence Shripad Naik has expressed optimism that strong defence capabilities would help the nation in safeguarding the prosperity generated over last couple of decades and also protect key economic interests like trade routes and safety going forward.

He also said that focus on developing a strong domestic capability in defence would be a great economic growth impetus and also help in skilled job creation in manufacturing, a key need and priority for the nation. Naik further noted that India has emerged as a key global power driven by the impressive economic growth backed by its longstanding moral leadership on core humanitarian and geographical issues.

The Minister emphasised that the huge opportunity and clear vision of Central Government for the defence sector has attracted the attention of not only a few large players but also a large number of Micro, Small and Medium sized enterprises, which visualise this unprecedented opportunity as a gateway towards entering into the domain of defence production.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10345.70, up by 56.80 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 10311.25 and 10407.75. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 6.37%, BPCL up by 6.05%, Indian Oil up by 5.06%, TCS up by 4.46% and Wipro up by 3.94%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.62%, Bajaj Finance down by 3.01%, Bharti Infratel down by 3.00%, ITC down by 2.47% and Sun Pharma down by 1.74% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 65.18 points or 1.06% to 6,212.32, France’s CAC increased 42.50 points or 0.86% to 4,961.08 and Germany’s DAX was up by 66.56 points or 0.55% to 12,244.43.