Benchmarks trade higher in early deals on coronavirus vaccine optimism

Indian equity benchmarks made positive start on Tuesday tracking gains in global peers. Markets are trading higher with gains of around half a percent each in early deals, supported by buying in Bankex, Capital Goods and Realty stocks. However, selling in IT, TECK and Healthcare stocks kept upside in check. Sentiments got a boost with optimism over Covid-19 vaccine as Pfizer Inc's said its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90 percent effective based on initial trial results, and they have so far found no serious safety concerns, priming it for possible speedy regulatory approvals. Adding more positivity, SBI Research report stated that a number of green shoots are visible in the economy five months after easing restrictions. It also said assuming that India escapes a second wave, the pandemic will subside by February 2021. Besides, market participants are tracking today's counting of votes for the Bihar assembly election, with most pollsters predicting a landslide victory for the five-party Grand Alliance led by the young RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

On the global front, most of the Asian markets were trading higher amid improved risk appetite after US stocks hit record intraday highs overnight following upbeat results from a late-stage study of a coronavirus vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. The vaccine news boosted optimism about the economic recovery and lifted airline as well as travel-related stocks, which are among the worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Back home, insurance industry stocks were in focus with report that the life insurance industry with public and private life insurance companies put together grew by 32 percent, collecting a total premium of Rs 22,776 crore. In scrip specific development, Equitas Small Finance Bank is trading in fine-fettle after its net profit more than doubled to Rs 103 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 over Rs 49 crore in the year-ago period. Also, the Reserve Bank of India has lifted the restrictions imposed on its small finance bank subsidiary in September last year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 42793.88, up by 196.45 points or 0.46% after trading in a range of 42660.09 and 42959.25. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.25%, while Small cap index was down by 0.13%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 2.15%, Capital Goods up by 1.42%, Realty up by 1.41%, Industrials up by 1.16%, PSU up by 0.96%, while IT down by 2.95%, TECK down by 2.61%, Healthcare down by 1.03%, Telecom down by 0.73%, FMCG down by 0.50% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 3.96%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.00%, Indusind Bank up by 3.00%, HDFC up by 2.56% and Larsen & Toubro up by 2.54%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 4.07%, Infosys down by 3.15%, HCL Technologies down by 2.78%, TCS down by 2.65% and Nestle down by 1.33% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that India is likely to experience a behavioural change in urban mobility in the aftermath of the ongoing coronavirus disease (covid-19) pandemic. He noted that this crisis also presents an opportunity to guide the recovery of urban transport towards long-term development goals. He also said the future of mobility is about striving towards environment-friendly, integrated, automated and personalised travel on demand.

Puri has stated that new advancements, like intelligent transportation systems and traffic management applications, are in the pipeline for enhanced mobility in major cities. He said investment in infrastructure to address more effective circulation and interchange of people and goods will have an economic multiplier effect, both in job-creation in the present and boosting growth and productivity in the future.

The ministry has issued a detailed advisory, as to how the nation needs to move ahead in these testing times. It rests on three key pillars, namely, promotion of public transport system, leveraging technological advancements and penetration of NMT systems in the urban transport paradigm. He noted that various studies show that about 16-57 per cent of urban commuters are pedestrian and about 30-40 per cent use bicycles depending on the size of the city. Considering this as an opportunity, he said elevating the priority of these modes gives travellers another private vehicle alternative, which is clean, safe, secured particularly if it is integrated with other modes and affordable for all. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 12522.55, up by 61.50 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 12475.25 and 12557.05. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ICICI Bank up by 3.89%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.86%, Indusind Bank up by 3.66%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.66% and HDFC up by 2.57%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 3.94%, Infosys down by 3.15%, TCS down by 2.54%, HCL Technologies down by 2.44% and Wipro down by 1.97% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 119.60 points or 0.48% to 24,959.44, Straits Times rose 77.60 points or 2.97% to 2,686.96, Hang Seng jumped 186.41 points or 0.72% to 26,202.58, Jakarta Composite soared 83.68 points or 1.56% to 5,439.69 and Shanghai Composite was up by 3.91 points or 0.12% to 3,377.64. On other hand, Taiwan Weighted lost 48.15 points or 0.37% to 13,079.32 and KOSPI fell 2.13 points or 0.09% to 2,445.07.