Bourses maintain healthy gains in late afternoon session

Key benchmark indices were trading with healthy gains in late afternoon session. Among heavy-weights HDFC, Mahindra & Mahindra and Asian Paints exhibited a smart performance. Sentiments remained upbeat with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement Indian exports will automatically increase if the products are good and competitively priced and that products are entrepreneurs should not think that subsidies are the only solution. On the sectoral front, logistics sector remained in focus, as Ratings agency ICRA has said that the near-term growth of the Covid-19-battered logistics sector is expected to be driven by specific segments like e-commerce. Citing how trends in online purchases and deliveries have picked up substantially post the lockdown, it also pointed out the pickup in the automotive sector, especially entry-level cars, motorcycles, and the tractors segment which augurs well for specific logistics players like auto carriers.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading in green after US President Donald Trump was discharged from hospital following treatment for COVID-19. For investors, prospects for a fresh US stimulus package appeared to brighten. However, European markets were trading lower.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39356.81, up by 383.11 points or 0.98% after trading in a range of 39191.10 and 39379.26. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.49%, while Small cap index was up by 0.46%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.22%, Auto up by 1.31%, Bankex up by 1.13%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.82% and Industrials was up by 0.72%, while Metal down by 0.79%, Oil & Gas down by 0.34%, FMCG down by 0.25%, Capital Goods down by 0.24% and Power was down by 0.22% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 6.39%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.32%, Asian Paints up by 2.85%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.63% and Indusind Bank up by 2.43%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.73%, Nestle down by 1.00%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.65%, NTPC down by 0.65% and ITC down by 0.18% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s service sector activity stabilised in the month of September, with the relaxation of coronavirus pandemic 2019 (COVID-19) restrictions. As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei Services Business Activity Index rose to 49.8 in September from 41.8 in August. Further, the Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services - surged to 54.6 in September from 46.0 in August.

The report said that service sector output broadly stabilised during September. New orders from abroad contracted at the slowest pace in six months, but here the reduction was sharp. There was a sharp rise in outstanding business at companies operating in the Indian service sector at the end of the second quarter of fiscal year 2020/21. Moreover, the rate of backlog accumulation was little-changed from August's survey record.

On the price front, input prices rose in September, with monitored companies citing higher fuel, meat and vegetable costs. The overall rate of inflation was at a seven-month high, but remained below its long-run average. Besides, prices charged for the provision of services in India increased during September, as was the case in August. The rate of inflation was broadly similar to that seen in the preceding survey period, thereby remaining modest by historical standards. Companies that lifted their fees indicated that additional cost burdens had been shared with clients.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11603.40, up by 100.05 points or 0.87% after trading in a range of 11564.30 and 11615.30. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 8.51%, HDFC up by 6.50%, Adani Ports up by 3.97%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.30% and Asian Paints up by 2.80%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.82%, Britannia down by 1.75%, Coal India down by 1.69%, Hindalco down by 1.54% and Wipro down by 1.27% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading in green; Hang Seng increased 212.87 points or 0.9% to 23,980.65, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 155.95 points or 1.24% to 12,704.23, Nikkei 225 surged 121.59 points or 0.52% to 23,433.73, Jakarta Composite soared 40.45 points or 0.82% to 4,999.22, Straits Times advanced 12.49 points or 0.5% to 2,529.72 and KOSPI was up by 7.90 points or 0.34% to 2,365.90.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 33.31 points or 0.56% to 5,909.63, France’s CAC decreased 12.53 points or 0.26% to 4,859.34 and Germany’s DAX was down by 32.60 points or 0.25% to 12,795.71.