Benchmarks extend gains in late afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks extended their gains in late afternoon session, with the Sensex and the Nifty gaining 300 and 100 points, respectively. Likewise, Metal, Basic Materials and Energy have also elevated with gains on their respective front line stocks. Sentiments remained upbeat, as Union Cabinet has given its approval to new pan India Central Sector Scheme-Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, in order to provide a medium - long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and financial support. Traders took note of report that the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) has launched Nasscom Launchpad in New Jersey, to promote cross border trade through partnerships. Sector wise, insurance stocks remained in focus, as the government, post a cabinet meeting, said that the merger process of three ailing public sector general insurance companies has been stopped and instead the focus will be on their profitable growth. On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in green as software giant SAP signalled a rebound in its business from a coronavirus hit, while optimism over China's recovery helped Germany outperform.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36711.80, up by 382.79 points or 1.05% after trading in a range of 36422.30 and 36737.82. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.05%, while Small cap index was up by 0.41%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.36%, Basic Materials up by 1.36%, Energy up by 1.22%, Bankex up by 1.06% and Healthcare was up by 0.47%, while FMCG down by 0.51%, Auto down by 0.37%, Consumer Durables down by 0.33%, Capital Goods down by 0.32% and Power was down by 0.16% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 5.10%, Tata Steel up by 3.53%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.26%, HDFC up by 3.22% and HCL Tech up by 2.62%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.38%, ONGC down by 1.23%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.16%, ITC down by 0.97% and Titan Co down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet has given its approval to new pan India Central Sector Scheme-Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, in order to provide a medium - long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and financial support.

Under the scheme, Rs 1 lakh crore will be provided by banks and financial institutions as loans to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), Marketing Cooperative Societies, Farmer Producers Organizations (FPOs), Self Help Group (SHG), Farmers, Joint Liability Groups (JLG), Multipurpose Cooperative Societies, Agri-entrepreneurs, Startups, Aggregation Infrastructure Providers and Central/State agency or Local Body sponsored Public Private Partnership Project

Agri Infra fund will be managed and monitored through an online Management Information System (MIS) platform. It will enable all the qualified entities to apply for loan under the fund. The online platform will also provide benefits such as transparency of interest rates offered by multiple banks, scheme details including interest subvention and credit guarantee offered, minimum documentation, faster approval process as also integration with other scheme benefits.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10807.30, up by 101.55 points or 0.95% after trading in a range of 10733.00 and 10816.20. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 5.90%, Bajaj Finance up by 4.69%, Tata Steel up by 3.49%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.24% and HDFC up by 3.19%. On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 2.71%, Coal India down by 2.26%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.61%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.31% and ONGC down by 1.05% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in green, France’s CAC increased 8.84 points or 0.18% to 4,989.97, Germany’s DAX increased 143.74 points or 1.15% to 12,638.55. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 13.18 points or 0.21% to 6,142.98.