Equity markets turn positive in late afternoon session

Indian benchmarks erased all the losses to turn positive in late afternoon session, Both Sensex and Nifty were trading above their crucial 44000 and 12900 marks, respectively. The broader indices, BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index are trading in green. Traders took support after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has said the country’s economy has recovered stronger than expected from the initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Some optimism also came with a private report stating that the Indian economy is likely to have improved in the second quarter with GDP printing in at -7.8 percent as against 24 percent contraction in the June quarter. On the global front,A markets were trading mostly in green even as Chinese technology giants rebounded ahead of third quarter earnings by Tencent. European markets were trading mostly in green as a global equity market rally takes a breather. Back home, sector wise, banking sector remained in focus as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has indicated that bank credit growth decelerated to 5.8 percent in Q2 (July- September) of FY21 from 8.9 percent in the year-ago period. It also said aggregate deposits of banks rose 11 percent year-on-year in the July-September period as compared to 10.1 percent growth a year ago.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 44007.39, up by 179.29 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 43582.40 and 44061.84. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.32%, while Small cap index was up by 0.40%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.68%, Basic Materials up by 1.00%, Bankex up by 0.81%, Telecom up by 0.63% and Healthcare was up by 0.54%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.69%, Energy down by 0.31%, Utilities down by 0.22%, Auto down by 0.21% and IT was down by 0.17% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 2.78%, Tata Steel up by 2.29%, Axis Bank up by 2.24%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.95% and HCL Tech up by 1.79%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.56%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.33%, Asian Paints down by 1.10%, Infosys down by 0.82% and ONGC down by 0.80% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, pointing downside risks to growth across the world and also in India, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has said the country’s economy has recovered stronger than expected from the initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but there is a need to be watchful of demand sustainability after the end of festivities.

Das noted that after witnessing a sharp contraction in the economy by 23.9 per cent in Q1 and a multi-speed normalisation of activity in Q2, the Indian economy has exhibited stronger than expected pick-up in momentum of recovery. He further added that even as growth outlook has improved, downside risks to growth continue due to recent surge in infections in parts of Europe and also in parts of India.

Besides, Das said regulatory reforms have moved the financial markets to the next trajectory amid the pandemic and affirmed RBI's commitment to ensure an orderly conduct in the markets. He also said that India will continue to approach capital account convertibility ‘as a process, rather than as an event’ within a broad macroeconomic framework.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 12919.90, up by 61.50 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 12790.40 and 12925.40. There were 33 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index, while 2 stocks remain unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Grasim Industries up by 3.64%, JSW Steel up by 2.97%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.58%, Tata Steel up by 2.49% and Axis Bank up by 2.38%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.61%, BPCL down by 1.43%, Eicher Motors down by 1.38%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.19% and Britannia down by 1.05% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Nikkei 225 surged 240.45 points or 0.91% to 26,537.31, Hang Seng increased 149.70 points or 0.56% to 26,819.45, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 106.83 points or 0.78% to 13,845.66, Jakarta Composite soared 80.67 points or 1.42% to 5,759.92, KOSPI rose 24.37 points or 0.94% to 2,625.91 and Shanghai Composite was up by 7.40 points or 0.22% to 3,369.73. On the flip side, Straits Times was down by 16.42 points or 0.57% to 2,853.13.

European markets were trading mostly in green, France’s CAC increased 2.71 points or 0.05% to 5,574.00 and Germany’s DAX was up by 2.04 points or 0.02% to 13,291.84. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 15.69 points or 0.25% to 6,375.40.