Equity markets turn positive in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets erased all their losses to turn positive in late afternoon session. Traders took support with private report which upgraded India GDP forecast to a contraction of 10.3 per cent in FY21, as against its earlier estimate of a negative growth of 14.8 per cent. Traders took support that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to attract foreign investment to modernize India’s urban centers as the world’s second-most-populous nation rebuilds its economy after the coronavirus pandemic halted activity. On the sectoral front, oil & gas sector remained in focus after India's oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan asked exploration companies to consider farming out their acreages to global players with advanced technology to expedite development and raise oil and gas output. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green despite worries about the long-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic tempered enthusiasm about possible vaccine development. European markets were trading mostly in red as a global market rally falters following a spate of positive coronavirus vaccine news.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 44075.41, up by 122.70 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 43785.78 and 44136.01. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.01%, while Small cap index was up by 0.77%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 3.36%, Industrials up by 2.70%, Auto up by 2.54%, Bankex up by 1.72% and Realty was up by 1.43%, while TECK down by 1.39%, IT down by 1.39%, FMCG down by 1.16%, Telecom down by 1.10% and Consumer Durables was down by 1.04% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 10.46%, Larsen & Toubro up by 5.70%, Indusind Bank up by 4.17%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.64% and Bajaj Finance up by 3.21%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 2.40%, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.14%, TCS down by 1.82%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.78% and Infosys down by 1.72% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to boost exports, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has urged the commerce ministry to start negotiations for a preferential trade agreement with the UK. AEPC Chairman A Sakthivel said that the agreement would help in removing the customs duty disadvantages faced by domestic players in the UK.

Under a preferential trade pact, two countries significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on certain numbers of goods to promote trade ties. AEPC Chairman also said that India has been losing out to its competitors in the UK and hence request to initiate discussions for an early trade pact.

As per the chairman, apparel exports to UK, which is India's third largest export destination after the US and UAE, have been facing a tariff disadvantage of 9.6 per cent as against countries like Bangladesh due to the EU's Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), which the UK plans to continue offering to the LDCs.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 12895.55, up by 21.35 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 12819.35 and 12918.20. There were 23 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 10.26%, Tata Motors up by 8.86%, Larsen & Toubro up by 5.81%, Indusind Bank up by 4.19% and Bajaj Finserv up by 3.65%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 2.83%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.41%, Titan Company down by 2.38%, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.23% and TCS down by 1.82% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 180.28 points or 1.33% to 13,773.29, Hang Seng increased 129.20 points or 0.49% to 26,544.29, Jakarta Composite soared 27.58 points or 0.5% to 5,557.52, Straits Times advanced 7.55 points or 0.27% to 2,786.10, Shanghai Composite gained 7.40 points or 0.22% to 3,347.30 and KOSPI was up by 6.49 points or 0.26% to 2,545.64. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was down by 286.48 points or 1.1% to 25,728.14.

European markets were trading mostly in red, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 18.98 points or 0.3% to 6,346.35 and France’s CAC was down by 4.15 points or 0.08% to 5,478.85. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX was down by 0.50 points or 0% to 13,133.97.