Indian equities continue to trade with minor gains in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade with minor gains in morning deals, tracking gains in index majors Ultratech Cement, HCL Technologies and Power Grid. Traders took some support with Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar’s statement that the fresh stimulus package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to boost domestic demand will give a much-needed push to economic activity. Sitharaman announced a Rs 73,000 crore package, including advance payment of a part of wages to central government employees and cash in lieu of LTC, to stimulate consumer demand and investment in the economy damaged by the coronavirus pandemic. Some support also came as the RBI raised banks' maximum aggregate retail exposure limit to entities with turnover up to Rs 50 crore to Rs 7.5 crore, up from Rs 5 crore, in a bid to increase credit flow to small businesses. However, gains remain capped as investors react to disappointing industrial output and retail inflation data. India's industrial production continued to fall in August but the pace decline slowed due to the gradual relaxation of the coronavirus containment measures. Industrial output dropped 8 percent on a yearly basis. Besides, India's consumer price inflation rose 7.34 percent year-on-year in September following a 6.69 percent increase in August.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as investors turned cautious ahead of the release of earnings results by major U.S. banks this week and also digested news that Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine study has been paused due to an unexplained illness in a study participant. Back home, on the sectoral front, there was some reaction in aviation stocks with Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s statement that the total number of passengers flying in a single day increased to 1,78,431 on October 11.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40707.14, up by 113.34 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 40468.24 and 40737.49. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.08%, while Small cap index was up by 0.07%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Basic Materials up by 1.09%, FMCG up by 0.60%, Healthcare up by 0.53%, IT up by 0.53% and Energy up by 0.49%, while Bankex down by 0.52%, PSU down by 0.47%, Oil & Gas down by 0.23%, Industrials down by 0.18% and Telecom down by 0.04% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 3.22%, HCL Technologies up by 1.11%, Power Grid up by 0.94%, Asian Paints up by 0.87% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.80%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.89%, SBI down by 1.08%, Indusind Bank down by 0.76%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.50% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.32% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) -- President Sangita Reddy has said there is a need for convergence between self-reliance and globalisation, while sustainability and diversity would remain as cornerstones of future growth. She said the Indian industry would achieve faster growth and development under the present leadership.

Talking about on re-imagining the world post-COVID-19, Reddy said ‘I would like to assure our global partners that we are fully committed to ensuring a robust and resurgent future for our 'Bharat'. Besides, Ficci Senior Vice President Uday Shankar said increasing reliance on artificial intelligence and machine learning is the need of the hour. He added these will be a gateway for enhanced customer loyalty, as well as business sustainability.

He noted that now governments and industry around the world have realised that business excellence, adaptability to change, gender diversity and sustainability would be key drivers for decision making towards building a resilient and smart economic framework.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11978.05, up by 47.10 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 11888.90 and 11982.00. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 3.01%, Shree Cement up by 2.22%, Grasim Industries up by 1.54%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.53% and UPL up by 1.46%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.72%, GAIL India down by 1.61%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 0.99%, SBI down by 0.81% and SBI Life Insurance down by 0.75% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; KOSPI fell 6.40 points or 0.27% to 2,397.33, Shanghai Composite declined 9.57 points or 0.28% to 3,348.90, Jakarta Composite lost 15.59 points or 0.31% to 5,077.51 and Taiwan Weighted dropped 49.26 points or 0.38% to 12,906.65. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 28.23 points or 0.12% to 23,586.92, Straits Times advanced 2.32 points or 0.09% to 2,554.74.