Indian equity markets were trading in fine fettle with Sensex and Nifty crossing 45,300 and 13,300 levels in the afternoon session due to healthy buying in healthcare, telecom and PSU stocks. Gains in frontline blue chip stocks such as Indusind Bank, Sun Pharma and Hindustan Unilever also helped to lift the markets. Sentiments were upbeat as DPIIT data showed that foreign direct investment (FDI) equity inflows into India crossed the $500 billion milestone during April 2000 to September 2020 period. The inflows during the period stood at $500.12 billion. Traders were also encouraged by Niti Aayog vice chairman -- Rajiv Kumar’s statement that India's economic growth may reach pre-COVID-19 levels by the end of the 2021-22 fiscal as the GDP contraction in this financial year is expected to be less than 8 per cent. Meanwhile, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressed hope that fuel prices would stabilise as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has decided to increase the crude oil production. OPEC decided to increase the crude oil production by 5 lakh barrels a day.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed with report that U.S. is preparing to slap sanctions on a dozen more Chinese officials, ratcheting up tensions with Beijing. Back on street, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 45309.37, up by 229.82 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 45024.47 and 45348.72. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.84%, while Small cap index was up by 1.34%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.77%, Telecom up by 1.66%, PSU up by 1.52%, FMCG up by 1.09% and Oil & Gas was up by 1.06%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.12%, Auto down by 0.10%, Power down by 0.02% and Realty was down by 0.00% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 3.97%, Sun Pharma up by 3.05%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.30%, ONGC up by 2.06% and SBI was up by 1.78%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.39%, HDFC Bank down by 1.03%, Titan Company down by 0.84%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.75% and HCL Tech was down by 0.75% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, in order to boost export of AYUSH products, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of AYUSH have decided to work together to set up an Export Promotion Council. The decision was taken in a joint review meeting attended by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of AYUSH Shripad Naik.
Besides, the AYUSH ministry will work in collaboration with the Bureau of Indian standards to develop international standards for AYUSH products and services. The entire AYUSH sector will work together to achieve price and quality competitiveness to boost AYUSH exports.
The review meeting was held through video conference which was attended by nearly 50 industry and trade leaders from the AYUSH sector. More than 2000 stake-holders of the AYUSH sector also attended the event through live streaming on virtual platforms.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13328.80, up by 70.25 points or 0.53% after trading in a range of 13241.95 and 13336.85. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 3.91%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 3.28%, Sun Pharma up by 3.07%, UPL up by 2.96% and Dr. Reddys Lab was up by 2.92%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 1.39%, Nestle down by 1.28%, Hindalco down by 1.09%, HDFC Bank down by 1.04% and Titan Company was down by 0.86% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted advanced 124.16 points or 0.88% to 14,256.60, KOSPI gained 13.99 points or 0.51% to 2,745.44, Jakarta Composite surged 106.19 points or 1.83% to 5,916.67 and Straits Times was up by 1.78 points or 0.06% to 2,841.67. On the other side; Nikkei 225 declined 203.80 points or 0.76% to 26,547.44, Hang Seng plunged 353.09 points or 1.32% to 26,482.83 and Shanghai Composite was down by 26.56 points or 0.77% to 3,418.02.
