Sensex, Nifty remain strong in late morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained strong in late morning deals, with both Sensex and Nifty holding their notable gains. Gaining rally continued over the Dalal Street, on the back of positive cues from other Asian markets. Domestic sentiments were positive, as Indian service sector output broadly stabilised in September but remained in the contraction zone as incoming new business fell moderately due to the damaging impact of the pandemic on demand, leading to more job losses. The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index rose for the fifth straight month in September to 49.8 from 41.8 in August.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher, even after consumer prices in South Korea were up 1.0 percent on year in September, Statistics Korea said on Tuesday - exceeding expectations for a gain of 0.7 percent, which would have been unchanged from August. On a monthly basis, inflation rose 0.7 percent - again beating forecasts for 0.4 percent and up from 0.6 percent in the previous month. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food prices, rose 0.1 percent on month and 0.6 percent on year after rising 0.2 percent on month and 0.4 percent on year in August.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39270.42, up by 296.72 points or 0.76% after trading in a range of 39191.10 and 39379.10. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.62%, while Small cap index was up by 0.52%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.01%, Auto up by 1.43%, Bankex up by 1.11%, Industrials up by 0.86% and Consumer Discretionary up by 0.81%, while IT down by 1.13%, TECK down by 0.93%, Metal down by 0.51%, Power down by 0.32% and Oil & Gas down by 0.24% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 6.38%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.29%, Indusind Bank up by 2.70%, Asian Paints up by 2.01% and HDFC Bank up by 1.92%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.99%, Infosys down by 1.13%, Tata Steel down by 0.84%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.64% and Nestle down by 0.36% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest report on 'Data on ECB/FCCB for the month of August 2020' has showed that foreign borrowings of India Inc fell by over 47 per cent in August 2020 to $1.75 billion as compared to $3.32 billion borrowed from overseas markets in August 2019, by way of external commercial borrowings (ECBs). The report showed that of the total borrowings from overseas sources during the month under review, $1.61 billion was raised through ECBs, while the rest $145.74 million was raised by issuing rupee denominated bonds (RDBs) or masala bonds. Splitting the data in the ECB category, it said a total of $1.57 billion was raised by various companies through the automatic route, while the rest $35.93 million came in through the approval route.

The major borrowers in the automatic route of ECB included Reliance Sibur Elastomers, a manufacturer of chemicals and chemical products, which raised $339.42 million for refinancing of an earlier ECB. Vijayapura Tollway raised $160 million for infrastructure development and China Steel Corporation India Private Limited $104.5 million for refinancing of an earlier ECB.

A total of eight firms issued masala bonds or RDBs, which included Ostro Mahawind Power Private Limited raising $78.6 million and Ostro Renewables Private Limited $20.01 million. Heramba Renewables Limited and Shreyas Solarfarms Limited raised $13.33 million and 13.32 million respectively, as per the data. No money was raised through masala bonds in August 2019.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11584.30, up by 80.95 points or 0.70% after trading in a range of 11564.30 and 11615.30. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 7.69%, HDFC up by 6.39%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.29%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.83% and Indusind Bank up by 2.78%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 2.78%, TCS down by 1.99%, Coal India down by 1.27%, Infosys down by 1.16% and Hindalco down by 0.89% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading higher; Hang Seng increased 179.19 points or 0.75% to 23,946.97, Jakarta Composite soared 51.11 points or 1.03% to 5,009.88, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 132.95 points or 1.06% to 12,681.23, Straits Times advanced 13.82 points or 0.55% to 2,531.05, KOSPI rose 9.80 points or 0.42% to 2,367.80 and Nikkei 225 surged 117.28 points or 0.5% to 23,429.42.