Indian markets maintain upward momentum

Indian equity markets maintained their upward momentum in the afternoon session, following gains in Oil & Gas, energy and PSU stocks. Healthy buying was observed in blue-chip stocks like Asian Paints, SBI and Kotak Mahindra Bank. Sentiments remained up-beat with Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) K V Subramanian statement that the government may announce more fiscal measures to boost demand once the uncertainty related to Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic wanes. On the sectoral front, pharma stocks remained in limelight as Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers announced a production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the promotion and manufacturing of pharmaceutical raw materials in India. The government’s move is aimed to boost domestic manufacturing and cut dependence on imports of critical Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs).

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as the market struggles for a direction with the mounting tensions between US and China after the US asked Beijing to close its diplomatic consulate in Houston within the next 72 hours. Back home, in scrip specific development, Yes Bank tumbled ahead of the listing of fresh equity shares allotted in follow-on public offer (FPO). The shares are expected to list on Friday.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38122.25, up by 250.73 points or 0.66% after trading in a range of 37738.59 and 38161.45. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.04%, while Small cap index was up by 0.83%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.54%, Energy up by 1.49%, PSU up by 1.41%, Healthcare up by 1.35% and Consumer Discretionary was up by 1.25%, while IT down by 0.75%, and TECK was down by 0.49% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 2.18%, SBI up by 1.93%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.88%, ITC up by 1.86% and Reliance Industries was up by 1.57%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 2.79%, Infosys down by 1.37%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.54%, TCS down by 0.50% and Nestle was down by 0.28% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Crisil Research in its latest report has said that electronic toll collection at national highways in June 2020 has rebounded to its March levels and touched 75 percent of February levels as economic activities across the country have started to pick up since the implementation of 'unlock'. It said construction across national highways is also picking up, however, it may decline by 10-13 percent in the current fiscal year (FY21) as compared to previous fiscal year.

The report has stated that for an idea of how hard the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic had slammed the brakes, toll collection had dropped off the cliff from Rs 11 crore in February 2020 to just Rs 1 crore in April. It also said the lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic had virtually halted movement of people and goods in April and May, but curbs are being lifted slowly and the economy is beginning to crawl back.

According to the agency, national highway construction activities rebounded to 637 km in May from just 210 km in April. But key construction months were lost in the lockdown and labour migration continues to pinch. It added that normalcy might return only after the monsoon.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11210.60, up by 78.00 points or 0.70% after trading in a range of 11103.15 and 11226.55. There were 42 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Zee Entertainment up by 5.41%, Eicher Motors up by 3.82%, Indian Oil Corporation up by 3.04%, Asian Paints up by 2.26% and BPCL was up by 2.02%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 2.70%, Shree Cement down by 1.55%, Infosys down by 1.19%, Wipro down by 0.96% and TCS was down by 0.53% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; KOSPI fell 12.47 points or 0.56% to 2,216.19, Taiwan Weighted dropped 60.23 points or 0.48% to 12,413.04 and Shanghai Composite was down by 13.42 points or 0.4% to 3,319.74.

On the other hand, Jakarta Composite soared 35.02 points or 0.69% to 5,145.21, Straits Times advanced 24.87 points or 0.96% to 2,619.40 and Hang Seng was up by 158.32 points or 0.63% to 25,216.26.