Markets trade higher with marginal gains in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made slightly positive start on Wednesday. Soon, markets gained traction but failed to hold the momentum and came down near neutral lines to trade with marginal gains in early deals. Buying in metal, basic materials and FMCG counters supported the domestic indices, while selling in IT, TECK and Utilities kept upside in check. Sentiments got a boost with NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant’s statement that India will bounce back with a vengeance with green shoots in the economy already being visible, amidst the multiple challenges thrown up by the Covid-19 pandemic. Adding optimism the finance ministry said banks have sanctioned loans of about Rs 1,14,502 crore under the Rs 3-lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for MSME sector reeling under the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides, investors are looking ahead to the Cabinet meeting in which a couple announcements under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan will reportedly be considered. Though, rising coronavirus cases dampened the sentiments. In India, there now are 743,481 coronavirus cases, while the death toll in the country is now above 20,600. More than half of all cases in the country are from just three states - Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi.

On the global front, most of the Asian markets were trading higher with marginal gains amid negative cues overnight from Wall Street on renewed coronavirus concerns as World Health Organization officials warned that the death toll from the pandemic may start to climb again. The recent spike in coronavirus cases in the US and other parts of the world have dampened hopes of a quick economic recovery. Traders took note of report that Japan posted a current account surplus of 1,176.8 billion yen in May. That exceeded expectations for a surplus of 1,088.2 billion yen and was up from 262.7 billion yen in April.

Back home, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said the goods and services tax (GST) Implementation Committee is considering the demand for extending the due date for filing of annual return for 2019-20 by composition dealers. In scrip specific developments, Reliance Industries rose as it received the subscription amount of Rs 43,574 crore from Facebook Inc-owned Jaadhu Holdings LLC for its digital arm Jio Platforms. On the other hand, Suzlon Energy tumbled after its net loss widened in the March quarter. The company posted a net loss of Rs 824 crore for the quarter ended March 31, as compared to a net loss of Rs 293 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36726.03, up by 51.51 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 36646.13 and 36828.43. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.27%, while Small cap index was up by 0.50%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.50%, Basic Materials up by 0.80%, FMCG up by 0.59%, PSU up by 0.57%, Healthcare up by 0.56%, while IT down by 0.93%, TECK down by 0.73%, Utilities down by 0.40%, Power down by 0.30%, Auto down by 0.11% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 4.61%, Tata Steel up by 2.50%, SBI up by 2.23%, ITC up by 1.18% and HDFC Bank up by 1.00%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.78%, Axis Bank down by 1.02%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.94%, HCL Technologies down by 0.89% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.86% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said that India, which has been hit hard by the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, will bounce back soon with green shoots in the economy already being visible. He said the pandemic has impacted economic activities severely as the country had to go through a nationwide lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus. He also said the government had to announce a slew of measures, including fiscal package, to boost the economy.

Kant stated that the slowdown in economic activities led to a decline in the government's revenue collection. However, he said with the gradually unlocking, economic activities are reviving. He also highlighted that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collection in June rose to Rs 90,917 crore from Rs 62,009 crore mopped up in May and Rs 32,294 crore in April. He noted that the pandemic is a massive challenge not merely for India but for the whole world, including the US and European countries.

Niti Aayog CEO further said every crisis is also an opportunity, therefore, this crisis is also going to have huge losers and winners and India can decide whether it wants to lose or whether it wants to win. He also stressed that India must pick up 12-13 areas of growth that are going to emerge as winners for tomorrow and listed out areas like data, artificial intelligence, genomics, mobility, and the creative industry. He also said the country must identify 12-13 sunrise sectors where it must become a global champion and really drive vigorously with full energy. He added that these sectors will take India to sustain high growth over the next 10-12 years and create a vast number of jobs.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10807.90, up by 8.25 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 10797.30 and 10847.85. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 4.32%, JSW Steel up by 3.25%, SBI up by 2.17%, Tata Steel up by 2.07% and Hindalco up by 1.90%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.90%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.42%, Zee Entertainment down by 1.41%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.32% and Axis Bank down by 1.15% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Straits Times inched up 0.04 points to 2,661.46, Hang Seng rose 87.85 points or 0.34% to 26,063.51, Taiwan Weighted jumped 74.23 points or 0.61% to 12,167.20, Jakarta Composite surged 66.58 points or 1.34% to 5,053.66 and Shanghai Composite was up by 24.89 points or 0.74% to 3,370.23. On the other hand, Nikkei 225 declined 86.23 points or 0.38% to 22,528.46 and KOSPI lost 5.26 points or 0.24% to 2,158.91.