Benchmarks trade in fine-fettle in early deals; Sensex surpasses 45,800 mark

Indian equity benchmarks, extending their record run of previous session, opened at fresh highs on Wednesday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street and favorable cues from Asian peers. Markets are trading in fine-fettle with gains of over half a percent each in early deals on the back of sustained buying in all the sectoral indices led by IT, Realty and PSU. Optimism over the coronavirus vaccine boosted investors' sentiment. As per a private report, an expert panel is set to review the applications of Bharat Biotech, Pfier-BioNTech and Serum Institute of India seeking emergency use authorisation for their vaccines. Some optimism came with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that India will not worry about missing its budget deficit target as it seeks to step up spending to support the economy. Traders took note of report that India Ratings and Research expects interest rates to stabilise at the current level and the Indian currency to undergo structural changes.

Global cues remained supportive with all the Asian markets were trading higher following the record highs overnight on Wall Street amid hopes of US fiscal stimulus. Reports that the UK has started to administer the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech to the public also helped lift sentiment. The UK is the first Western country in the world to start mass vaccination program against the pandemic. Back home, financials and bank stocks were once again in focus as the Supreme Court will continue its hearing in the interest waiver case today. In scrip specific development, ICICI Bank rose after its board approved stake sale in ICICI Securities.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 45897.58, up by 289.07 points or 0.63% after trading in a range of 45792.01 and 45908.08. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.66%, while Small cap index was up by 0.59%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.06%, Realty up by 1.06%, PSU up by 1.04%, TECK up by 1.02%, Healthcare up by 0.92%, while there was no loser on BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 2.37%, ITC up by 1.65%, HCL Technologies up by 1.48%, TCS up by 1.37% and Asian Paints up by 1.29%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 0.74%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.28%, Titan Company down by 0.19% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.17% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said that it is difficult to carry out tough reforms in India as there is 'too much of democracy', and emphasized that more reforms need to be done to make the country competitive. He said for the first time, the Centre has carried out hard reforms across sectors, including mining, coal, labour, agriculture, and the next wave of reforms must be pushed by the states.

Kant has stated that it is not easy to compete against China without hard reforms. He said that this government has demonstrated political will to carry out hard reforms. He stressed that the next wave of reforms must come from states. He said 'If 10-12 states will grow at higher rates, then there is no reason why Indian won't grow at higher rates. We have asked union territories to privatize discoms. Discoms must become far more competitive and provide cheap power’.

On Modi government's 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' initiative, Niti Aayog CEO said it is not about looking inwards, but unleashing the potential of Indian companies. He said the government has identified 10 champion sectors for production-linked incentives (PLI) scheme and these sectors will play a major role in making India a manufacturing hub, and give the country economies of scale.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13476.40, up by 83.45 points or 0.62% after trading in a range of 13449.60 and 13479.50. There were 42 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were UPL up by 2.20%, Sun Pharma up by 2.18%, HCL Technologies up by 1.78%, Coal India up by 1.60% and ITC up by 1.56%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 0.67%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.35%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.34%, Shree Cement down by 0.29% and Eicher Motors down by 0.26% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 302.46 points or 1.14% to 26,769.54, Straits Times increased 15.96 points or 0.56% to 2,841.59, Hang Seng jumped 319.79 points or 1.22% to 26,624.35, Taiwan Weighted advanced 39.27 points or 0.27% to 14,399.67, KOSPI rose 36.84 points or 1.36% to 2,737.77 and Shanghai Composite was up by 2.11 points or 0.06% to 3,412.29.