Local indices add some gains in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks added some gains and traded over half percent higher in morning deals, as Banking, Capital Goods and Industrials shares witnessed buying. Traders remained optimistic with private report stating that with economic activities gathering pace post easing of lockdowns across the country, hiring activities in most sectors have shown significant recovery in October over the previous month. Some support also came with oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s statement that India has invited global firms to invest in its strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs) as the nation's energy consumption growth would be fastest among large economies in coming decades. On the sectoral front, Power stocks remained in focus with the power ministry stated that it has mandated all electricity distribution utilities or discoms to comply with the Energy Conservation (EC) Act, 2001, which would reduce energy losses and bring in more transparency in the sector. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, as investors cheered progress in the development of a coronavirus vaccine and waited for results of Bihar Assembly elections.  Besides, the Ministry of Finance said that Japan posted a current account surplus of 1,660.2 billion yen in September, up 4.2 percent on year. That missed expectations for a surplus of 1,994.9 billion yen following the surplus of 2,102.8 billion yen in August. Imports were down 19.2 percent on year to 5,035.7 billion yen, while exports fell an annual 4.2 percent to 5,954.2 billion yen for a trade surplus of 918.4 billion yen. Also, the Bank of Japan said that overall bank lending in Japan was up 6.2 percent on year in October, coming in at 573.034 trillion yen. That follows the 6.4 percent gain in September.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 42926.32, up by 328.89 points or 0.77% after trading in a range of 42660.09 and 42988.83. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.04%, while Small cap index up by 0.15%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 2.61%, Capital Goods up by 2.26%, Industrials up by 1.85%, PSU up by 1.61% and Realty up by 1.34%, while IT down by 2.64%, TECK down by 2.30%, Healthcare down by 1.42%, FMCG down by 0.94% and Consumer Durables down by 0.47% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 4.76%, Bajaj Finance up by 4.59%, Larsen & Toubro up by 4.04%, ICICI Bank up by 3.87% and SBI up by 3.85%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 4.02%, Infosys down by 3.17%, HCL Technologies down by 2.95%, Nestle down by 2.18% and Hindustan Unilever down by 1.78% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, SBI Research in its latest report has said a number of green shoots are visible in the economy five months after easing restrictions. Further, the report said that assuming that India escapes a second wave, the pandemic will subside by February 2021.

The report mentioned that corporate results for July-September quarter shows that the companies producing essential goods have mostly witnessed strong results while those producing non-essential goods and services have mostly shown weaker results. Moreover, rating upgrades to downgrade ratio, though much below one- implying downgrades are still higher than upgrades - has shown signs of improvement from the April-June quarter. Besides, it said the SBI Business Activity Index as well SBI Index continues to improve in October.

The report also quotes other indicators such as Apple Mobility, RTO transactions, PMI manufacturing, GST e-way bills, petrol consumption, vehicle sales, SBI index, food arrival and prices and Air quality all show improved economic activity in October. The numbers have also crossed the peak reached in last 1 year for some indicators including manufacturing index, GST e-way bills, vehicle sales (from the positive level reached 2 years ago).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 12555.55, up by 94.50 points or 0.76% after trading in a range of 12475.25 and 12566.75. There were 31 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 5.02%, Bajaj Finance up by 4.69%, SBI up by 4.31%, Larsen & Toubro up by 4.28% and ICICI Bank up by 3.68%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 4.23%, Tech Mahindra down by 4.12%, Infosys down by 3.32%, HCL Tech. down by 3.05% and Nestle down by 2.38% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 195.92 points or 0.75% to 26,212.09, Jakarta Composite soared 82.78 points or 1.55% to 5,438.79, Straits Times advanced 77.37 points or 2.97% to 2,686.73, Nikkei 225 surged 61.12 points or 0.25% to 24,900.96 and Shanghai Composite gained 3.91 points or 0.12% to 3,377.64.

On the flip side, KOSPI fell 1.26 points or 0.05% to 2,445.94 and Taiwan Weighted dropped 75.67 points or 0.58% to 13,051.80.