Firm trade continues on Dalal Street

Firm trade continued over the Dalal Street in late morning deals, with both Sensex and Nifty holding notable gains. Positive cues from other Asian markets helped key indices to maintain their gaining rally.  Domestic sentiments were positive, as the government said central public sector enterprises have cleared payments to the tune of Rs 13,400 crore owed to micro, small and medium enterprises in the last five months and Rs 3,700 crore was paid to the units in September alone. The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) Ministry this month has written to the top management of over 2,800 corporates by name to make payment of pending dues of MSMEs.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after China's gross domestic product was up 4.9 percent on year in the third quarter of 2020, missing forecasts for a gain of 5.2 percent but still up from 3.2 percent in the three months prior. On a quarterly basis, GDP rose 2.7 percent - again shy of expectations for 3.2 percent and down sharply from the 11.5 percent gain in the previous three months.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40347.09, up by 364.11 points or 0.91% after trading in a range of 40211.22 and 40519.48. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.02%, while Small cap index was up by 0.33%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 2.35%, PSU up by 1.32%, Oil & Gas up by 1.04%, FMCG up by 0.93% and Metal up by 0.81%, while Auto down by 1.19%, Telecom down by 1.12%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.53%, Healthcare down by 0.39% and Capital Goods down by 0.32% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 3.94%, HCL Tech up by 3.72%, Axis Bank up by 3.54%, ONGC up by 3.12% and HDFC up by 2.98%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.38%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.00%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.97%, TCS down by 0.97% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.87% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in its latest data has showed that investments through participatory notes (P-notes) in the Indian capital market dropped to Rs 69,821 crore at September-end. This marks the first decline in investment through the route since March.

According to SEBI data, the value of P-note investments in Indian markets - equity, debt, hybrid securities and derivatives - declined to Rs 69,821 crore at September-end after hitting a 10-month high of Rs 74,027 crore at the end of August. Prior to that, the investment level was at Rs 63,228 crore, Rs 62,138 crore, Rs 60,027 crore and Rs 57,100 crore at the end of July, June, May and April, respectively.

The investment level had fallen to an over 15-year-low of Rs 48,006 crore at the end of March amid significant volatility in broader markets on concerns over coronavirus-triggered crisis. Of the total Rs 69,821 crore invested through the route till September, Rs 59,314 crore was invested in equities, Rs 10,240 crore in debt and Rs 267 crore in hybrid securities.

P-notes are issued by registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to overseas investors who wish to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly. However, they need to go through a due diligence process.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11851.05, up by 88.60 points or 0.75% after trading in a range of 11820.80 and 11898.25. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ICICI Bank up by 3.96%, HCL Tech up by 3.72%, Axis Bank up by 3.55%, ONGC up by 2.97% and HDFC up by 2.92%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 3.43%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.49%, Divis Lab down by 2.14%, UPL down by 1.45% and Cipla down by 1.41% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 279.29 points or 1.19% to 23,689.92, Hang Seng increased 168.03 points or 0.69% to 24,554.82, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 133.20 points or 1.04% to 12,883.57, KOSPI rose 15.30 points or 0.65% to 2,356.83, Straits Times advanced 12.48 points or 0.49% to 2,545.50 and Jakarta Composite soared 7.22 points or 0.14% to 5,110.63. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 11.07 points or 0.33% to 3,325.29.