Equity markets extend gains in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets extended gains in late afternoon session, with Sensex and Nifty garnering gains of above half a percent. Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto and HDFC Bank were the prime gainers among heavy-weights. Sentiments on the street improved, as Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian exuded confidence that the country would be back to a high growth path through reforms announced by the government, after overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic. Traders took note of Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla’s statement that India has received over $20 billion in FDI amid the coronavirus pandemic, showcasing the country as one of the most attractive destinations for investment globally. Traders ignored India’s merchandise exports slipped 12.66% to $22.70 billion in August 2020 as compared to same period of last year, on account of fall in the shipments of petroleum, leather, engineering goods and gems and jewellery items.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed as investors trod a cautious path following a broadly positive start to the week, with focus on the outcome of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting. European markets were trading mostly in green, as Zara-owner Inditex posted a quarterly profit, although UK blue-chip stocks came under pressure after a surge in the previous session.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39260.67, up by 216.32 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 39037.96 and 39264.69. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.13%, while Small cap index up by 0.24%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.90%, Realty up by 1.51%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.84%, Healthcare up by 0.76% and Energy was up by 0.66%, while Utilities down by 1.00%, PSU down by 0.75%, Telecom down by 0.67%, Power down by 0.55% and Oil & Gas was down by 0.43% were they top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 4.57%, Bajaj Auto up by 3.00%, HDFC Bank up by 1.58%, Sun Pharma up by 0.96% and Infosys up by 0.93%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 1.54%, Indusind Bank down by 1.37%, ONGC down by 1.36%, SBI down by 1.35% and Axis Bank down by 1.28% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in the wake of COVID19 pandemic, Union Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Gangwar has said that a number of unprecedented steps have been taken by the Union Government for labour welfare and employment  including for migrant workers across India.

Highlighting various initiatives taken for the welfare of migrant workers during lockdown, Labour Minister noted that immediately after the lockdown, directions were sent from Ministry of Labour & Employment to all the State Governments/UTs instructing them to provide financial assistance to construction workers from Building & Other Construction Workers’ Cess Fund.

Besides, the Minister said that the government has also announced the measures to strengthen Infrastructure Logistics, Capacity Building, Governance and Administrative Reforms for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Processing Sectors.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11590.00, up by 68.20 points or 0.59% after trading in a range of 11516.75 and 11591.80. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 4.74%, Hindalco up by 3.56%, Tata Motors up by 3.54%, Bajaj Auto up by 3.18% and Britannia up by 2.51%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 1.76%, Bharti Infratel down by 1.33%, ONGC down by 1.29%, SBI down by 1.12% and Power Grid down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Jakarta Composite lost 42.39 points or 0.83% to 5,058.48, Shanghai Composite declined 11.76 points or 0.36% to 3,283.92, KOSPI fell 7.66 points or 0.31% to 2,435.92, Hang Seng decreased 7.13 points or 0.03% to 24,725.63. On the flip side,Straits Times advanced 20.51 points or 0.83% to 2,506.34, Nikkei 225 surged 20.64 points or 0.09% to 23,475.53 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 131.11 points or 1.02% to 12,976.76.

European markets were trading mostly in green, France’s CAC increased 6.19 points or 0.12% to 5,074.12, Germany’s DAX increased 24.49 points or 0.19% to 13,242.16. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 1.87 points or 0.03% to 6,103.67.