Barometer gauges maintain gains

Indian stock markets were trading in fine fettle in the afternoon session, with Sensex and Nifty trading above 40,100 and 11,800 levels respectively. Healthy buying was observed in blue-chip stocks like ICICI Bank, SBI and Indusind Bank. Traders took encouragement as think-tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) said its Business Confidence Index (BCI) rose 41.1 per cent in the July-September 2020 period. This assumes significance as the GDP slipped by a historic 23.9 per cent in the April-June 2020 quarter, on account of the lockdown imposed by the government to check the spread of coronavirus. Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India extended the deadline for banks to comply with new guidelines with respect to existing current accounts. Current accounts are widely used by businesses for their daily activities.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher on the eve of the U.S. presidential election amid more positive economic news from China. Back on street, the overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of advances which thumped declines in the ratio of 1432:957; while 182 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 40176.38, up by 418.80 points or 1.05% after trading in a range of 39952.79 and 40315.98. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.61%, while Small cap index was up by 0.58%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 2.44%, Metal up by 1.67%, Auto up by 1.53%, Consumer Durables up by 1.27% and Capital Goods was up by 1.04%, while Realty down by 1.87% and Telecom was down by 0.18% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 4.53%, SBI up by 3.16%, Indusind Bank up by 3.06%, HDFC up by 3.00% and Power Grid Corporation was up by 2.69%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 3.08%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.41%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.26%, Infosys down by 0.23% and Asian Paints was down by 0.23% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that the sustainability of domestic demand in two-wheeler would remain contingent upon the coronavirus disease (covid-19) scenario following the festive season. It pointed out that October marked the beginning of the auspicious festive season in India and the pace of inventory restocking by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) reached its peak.

According to the report, even as dealers remain cautiously optimistic about retail sales going into the festive season, the listed OEMs reported a 24 percent year-on-year increase in their domestic sales volumes in October 2020. This indicates optimism regarding consumer sentiments, especially those in rural and semi-urban markets and continued preference for 2-wheelers as a personal mobility solution in urban areas.

On the export front, it said the listed OEMs reported a 32 percent year-on-year improvement in dispatches in the previous month and it indicates that the key export markets are also shaking-off the pandemic blues.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11801.15, up by 132.00 points or 1.13% after trading in a range of 11723.30 and 11826.40. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ICICI Bank up by 4.49%, Hindalco up by 4.04%, SBI up by 3.16%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.97% and Eicher Motors was up by 2.93%. On the flip side, UPL down by 4.77%, NTPC down by 3.08%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.72%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 0.58% and Hindustan Unilever was down by 0.39% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; Straits Times rose 44.60 points or 1.83% to 2,487.73, Hang Seng jumped 543.84 points or 2.22% to 25,003.85, KOSPI advanced 43.15 points or 1.88% to 2,343.31, Taiwan Weighted surged 144.7 points or 1.15% to 12,736.01, Jakarta Composite gained 41.16 points or 0.80% to 5157.81 and Shanghai Composite was up by 42.47 points or 1.30% to 3,267.59.