Indices maintain gains in late afternoon session

Key benchmark indices maintained their gains in late afternoon session following strong cues from European markets. The broader indices, BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were trading with the gains above half a percent. Some support came after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data has showed that bank credit grew by 5.66 per cent to Rs 103.44 lakh crore, while deposits increased by 10.55 per cent to Rs 143.02 lakh crore in the fortnight ended October 9. In the fortnight ended October 11, 2019, bank credit had stood at Rs 97.89 lakh crore and deposits at Rs 129.38 lakh crore. Traders ignored UN expert said that between 150 million and 175 million more people will fall into extreme poverty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green amid US lawmakers struggled to hammer out a fresh economic rescue package, while investors were largely unmoved by the last presidential debate before next month's election. European markets were trading higher by positive earnings updates from Barclays and carmakers, while nagging concerns about the economic impact of surging COVID-19 cases put markets on course for weekly losses.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40698.06, up by 139.57 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 40590.90 and 40811.12. 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 0.89%, while Small cap index was up by 0.75%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 2.39%, Consumer Durables up by 1.94%, Consumer Discretionary up by 1.77%, Power up by 1.41% and Industrials was up by 1.16%, while Realty down by 0.32%, IT down by 0.13% and Bankex was down by 0.13% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 3.52%, Maruti Suzuki up by 3.49%, Tata Steel up by 2.74%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.44% and NTPC up by 1.36%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.52%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.29%, HCL Tech down by 1.27%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.74% and Axis Bank down by 0.62% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, following a review of the current liquidity and financial conditions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to conduct purchase of Government securities under Open Market Operations (OMOs) for an aggregate amount of Rs 20,000 crore on October 29, 2020.

The Reserve Bank reserves the right to decide on the quantum of purchase of individual securities, accept bids for less than the aggregate amount,  purchase marginally higher/lower than the aggregate amount due to rounding-off and accept or reject any or all the bids either wholly or partially without assigning any reasons.

The Reserve Bank will continue to monitor evolving liquidity and market conditions and take measures as appropriate to ensure orderly functioning of financial markets.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11936.55, up by 40.10 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 11908.75 and 11974.55. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 3.36%, Power Grid up by 3.27%, Tata Motors up by 3.22%, Tata Steel up by 2.82% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.71%. On the flip side, Shree Cement down by 1.88%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.79%, GAIL India down by 1.52%, SBI Life down by 1.49% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.33% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 144.49 points or 0.58% to 24,930.62, Nikkei 225 surged 42.32 points or 0.18% to 23,516.59, Jakarta Composite soared 20.37 points or 0.4% to 5,112.19, Straits Times advanced 7.38 points or 0.29% to 2,535.79 and KOSPI was up by 5.76 points or 0.24% to 2,360.81. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted dropped 18.21 points or 0.14% to 12,898.82 and Shanghai Composite was down by 34.50 points or 1.04% to 3,278.00.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 63.88 points or 1.1% to 5,849.53, France’s CAC increased 57.60 points or 1.19% to 4,908.98 and Germany’s DAX was up by 95.55 points or 0.76% to 12,638.61.