Benchmarks extend gains in late afternoon session

The Indian benchmarks extended their gains in late afternoon session, with the Sensex and the Nifty gaining over 300 and 90 points, respectively. The markets took support, as Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in its latest report showed that investments through participatory notes (P-notes) in the Indian capital market surged to Rs 78,686 crore at October-end, on enhanced global liquidity and measures taken by the government. Some optimism also came after rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that the Year-on-Year (YoY) contraction in India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (at constant 2011-12 prices) is expected to narrow appreciably to 9.5 percent in the second quarter of the current fiscal (Q2FY21) from 23.9 percent in Q1FY21, as the economy recovered from the lows of the pandemic-induced lockdown. On the sectoral front, oil & gas sector stocks remained in focus with Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s statement that India will see an investment of Rs 10,000 crore in the next three years in setting up of LNG stations, a fuel that promises to revolutionalise long-haul transport with reduced cost and lesser emissions.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors assessed recent gains in the context of surging coronavirus cases and chances of fresh restrictions in the United States. European markets were trading marginally higher.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 43939.83, up by 339.87 points or 0.78% after trading in a range of 43453.75 and 43986.15. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.19%, while Small cap index was up by 0.91%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.84%, Consumer Durables up by 2.64%, Power up by 1.48%, TECK up by 1.40% and Bankex was up by 1.27%, while Energy down by 2.05% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 7.64%, Titan Company up by 5.35%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.53%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 3.20% and Nestle up by 2.63%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 2.68%, Sun Pharma down by 1.18%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.02%, ONGC down by 0.69% and Indusind Bank was down by 0.57% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, State Bank of India (SBI) in its latest research report from SBI Ecowrap has upgraded India's second-quarter (Q2) gross domestic product (GDP) to -10.7 per cent from -12.5 per cent with a positive bias.

The report said that there was no doubt that the country's economy had suffered and the scarring still remained. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Export Promotion Capital Goods (ECLGS) scheme was a shot in the arm.

According to the report, corporate results remained good and growth in corporate GVA of 3,640 listed entities was at 22.06 per cent year on year (y-o-y) for Q2 FY21 and size-wise analysis based on turnover showed resilience in small and medium enterprises.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 12867.85, up by 96.15 points or 0.75% after trading in a range of 12730.25 and 12884.15. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finserv up by 7.46%, Titan Company up by 5.25%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.29%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.99% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.86%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 2.86%, Sun Pharma down by 1.19%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.09%, Adani Ports down by 1.05% and Coal India down by 0.90% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng increased 94.57 points or 0.36% to 26,451.54, Straits Times advanced 32.51 points or 1.17% to 2,809.51, Shanghai Composite gained 14.64 points or 0.44% to 3,377.73 and KOSPI was up by 6.08 points or 0.24% to 2,553.50. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted dropped 5.99 points or 0.04% to 13,716.44, Jakarta Composite lost 22.40 points or 0.4% to 5,571.66 and Nikkei 225 was down by 106.97 points or 0.42% to 25,527.37.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 15.21 points or 0.24% to 6,349.56, France’s CAC increased 22.56 points or 0.41% to 5,497.22 and Germany’s DAX was up by 22.20 points or 0.17% to 13,108.36.