Markets continue to trade firm in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued to trade firm in the late afternoon session on account of buying in front line counters. Traders remain energized, as Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotion Council (IOPEPC) Chairman Khushwant Jain has said that the impact of the pandemic on the country's agriculture exports such as oil seeds and rice is much lower and the sector is recording healthy growth rate. Some comfort also came with report that Investments through participatory notes (P-notes) in the domestic capital market surged to Rs 62,138 crore till June-end, making it the third consecutive monthly rise. Traders shrugged off domestic rating agency ICRA revised its forecast for contraction in India's GDP in FY21 to 9.5 percent from 5 percent it expected earlier, as continued lockdowns in some states have affected the recovery seen in May and June.

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in red as investors weighed the latest corporate earnings against prospects for a stimulus deal that would underpin the region’s recovery. U.S. equity-index futures rose and Treasury yields dipped.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36744.68, up by 273.00 points or 0.75% after trading in a range of 36512.92 and 36807.57. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.24%, while Small cap index was up by 1.03%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 4.72%, Energy up by 3.09%, PSU up by 2.99%, Consumer Durables up by 2.79% and Utilities was up by 1.78%, while IT down by 1.10%, TECK down by 0.65% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 5.32%, Tata Steel up by 3.61%, Titan Company up by 3.36%, Reliance Industries up by 2.83% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.26%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.39%, Infosys down by 1.37%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.22%, Nestle down by 1.19% and Axis Bank down by 0.63% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in the wake of COVID-19, Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotion Council (IOPEPC) Chairman Khushwant Jain has said that the impact of the pandemic on the country's agriculture exports such as oil seeds and rice is much lower and the sector is recording healthy growth rate.

The Chairman also noted that in June, 11 agriculture products, including coffee, rice, tobacco, spices, oil meals, oil seeds, fruits and vegetables, cereal preparations and other processed items, have shown positive growth out of 14 key agriculture export products.

While comparing export trends, he said the average growth in exports of the 14 key agricultural products is 18 per cent against the backdrop of 12.4 per cent decline in overall merchandise exports in June. Jain added that increasing agriculture exports will play a crucial role in doubling the income of farmers.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10835.45, up by 95.50 points or 0.89% after trading in a range of 10749.65 and 10848.55. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 11.93%, ONGC up by 5.25%, Bharti Infratel up by 4.37%, GAIL India up by 4.29% and JSW Steel up by 4.10%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 1.87%, TCS down by 1.52%, Infosys down by 1.43%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.39% and Britannia down by 1.39% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in red, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 1.74 points or 0.03% to 6,248.95, France’s CAC decreased 23.24 points or 0.46% to 5,062.04. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX was up by 20.48 points or 0.16% to 12,895.45.