Indian bourses maintain upbeat mood in morning session

Indian equity indices maintained their upbeat mood in morning session, on the back of buying by funds and retail investors. The sentiments remained optimistic with the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Hardeep Singh Puri’s statement that immediate review of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India trade in goods agreement would help realise the true bilateral trade potential between India and the 10-member Southeast Asian bloc. He said it will also contribute to the realisation of 2020 trade target of $200 billion set by both parties. Markets were also getting some support with the Finance Ministry stating that banks have sanctioned loans of about Rs 1,37,586 crore under the Rs 3 lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for MSME sector, hit hard by the economic slowdown due to COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, better-than-expected quarterly earnings by some companies coupled with positive cues from other Asian markets added some thrust on the street. On the sectoral front, stocks related to shipping sector remained in focus as Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the government has initiated multiple steps to reduce high logistics cost, including strengthening inland waterways. He also urged private players to join hands to propel India's growth.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, following reports that the U.S. and China plan to review the implementation of their phase one trade deal in mid-August. However, weak Australian economic data and worries about the rising number of coronavirus cases in Victoria capped further gains. The latest survey from the Australian Industry Group showed that the construction sector in Australia continued to contract in July, albeit at a slower pace, with a Performance of Construction Index score of 42.7. That's up from 35.5, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38096.27, up by 408.36 points or 1.08% after trading in a range of 37889.59 and 38134.89. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.03%, while Small cap index was up by 1.10%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.04%, Bankex up by 1.76%, Auto up by 1.43%, Basic Materials up by 1.42% and IT up by 1.25%, while Power down by 0.05% was the lone losing index on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 3.29%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.56%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.41%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.39% and Bajaj Finserv up by 2.35%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.01%, Nestle down by 0.51% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.24% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over exports and economic growth of India, Commerce and Industry Minister PiyushGoyal stated that the country’s exports have showed signs of significant improvement and reached almost the level of the corresponding month last year in July 2020. He said several indicators are reflecting that the economic activities are reviving in the country.

He said ‘Our exports have almost reached last year's July level, with nearly 90 per cent of our export of July 2019 having come back. And, in fact if we were to remove the oil related exports, where we are largely a small value adder... we are 95 per cent plus on the revival of our exports’. He added the country ‘today is in a mood’ to not only bring back economic activity but also become self-reliant, improve the quality and competitive pricing of products.

India's exports fell for the fourth straight month in June as shipments of key segments like petroleum and textiles declined but the country's trade turned surplus for the first time in 18 years as imports dropped by a steeper 47.59 per cent. In value terms, exports declined by 12.41 per cent to $21.91 billion in June, on account of weak global demand due to Covid-19.After falling for a record 60.28 per cent in April, the rate of contraction of the country's total merchandise shipments slowed down to 36.7 per cent in May and 12.441 per cent in June.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11213.20, up by 117.95 points or 1.06% after trading in a range of 11144.50 and 11222.05. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 3.30%, Axis Bank up by 3.24%, Grasim Industries up by 2.84%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.67% and Bajaj Finserv up by 2.49%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 0.98%, Nestle down by 0.54%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.45%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.24% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.24% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 141.73 points or 0.57% to 25,088.36, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 88.45 points or 0.7% to 12,798.37, Jakarta Composite soared 8.56 points or 0.17% to 5,083.56, Straits Times advanced 17.23 points or 0.68% to 2,532.93, KOSPI rose 23.59 points or 1.03% to 2,303.56 and Shanghai Composite gained 9.66 points or 0.29% to 3,381.35.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 slipped 57.43 points or 0.25% to 22,516.23.