Markets continue to trade higher in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade higher with gains of over half percent in morning deals, following positive global cues as optimism over the coronavirus vaccine boosted investors' sentiment. Sentiments remained up-beat as Union Minister of Road Transport Nitin Gadkari has highlighted that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) is backbone of Indian economy and said the government's aim is to increase the sector's contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 50 per cent from the existing 30 per cent. Additional support came with a ratings agency ICRA’s statement that non-bank lenders have witnessed a good rise in loan collection efficiencies in the September quarter after the reverses in the first three months of the fiscal. Market participants also took a note of Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant’s statement 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.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher, as positive developments on the coronavirus vaccine front and hopes of U.S. fiscal stimulus outweighed worries about the continued surge in coronavirus cases. Upbeat Japanese core machine orders data also boosted sentiment. The value of core machine orders in Japan jumped a seasonally adjusted 17.1 percent on month in October, coming in at 842.5 billion yen. That blew away expectations for a gain of 2.8 percent following the 4.4 percent drop in September.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 45927.65, up by 319.14 points or 0.70% after trading in a range of 45792.01 and 45965.03. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.54%, while Small cap index was up by 0.56%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.43%, PSU up by 1.07%, IT up by 0.91%, TECK up by 0.80% and Realty up by 0.79%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 2.12%, Reliance Industries up by 1.68%, HCL Technologies up by 1.61%, TCS up by 1.17% and Asian Paints up by 1.07%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 0.49%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.45%, Tata Steel down by 0.45%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.26% and Titan Company down by 0.22% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India would not worry about missing its budget deficit target as it seeks to step up spending to support the economy. He mentioned the stimulus spending will not be wound down in a hurry. She added the government and the central bank together have done a good balancing act.

Sitharaman, who reviews government expenditure every 15 days, said she will push state firms to accelerate spending. Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month expanded support measures to Rs 30 trillion ($120 billion), or 15 per cent of the economy, to rescue companies and save jobs lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic, adding to global stimulus that has touched $12 trillion.

Besides, economists see the additional spending, along with falling tax revenue, pushing India’s budget gap wider to 8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the current financial year, more the double the targeted 3.5 per cent. ‘As regards the coming year, we need to do an assessment,’ she said ahead of the next fiscal year’s Budget due February 1. ‘I am not sure that I can immediately curtail expenditure. It will have to be a careful balance because the momentum that the economy gains should be sustained.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13483.70, up by 90.75 points or 0.68% after trading in a range of 13449.60 and 13494.85. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were UPL up by 2.34%, ITC up by 2.07%, HCL Technologies up by 1.70%, Reliance Industries up by 1.68% and Coal India up by 1.45%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 0.76%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.55%, Shree Cement down by 0.53%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.49% and Hindalco down by 0.37% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading higher; Hang Seng increased 310.50 points or 1.18% to 26,615.06, Nikkei 225 surged 316.70 points or 1.2% to 26,783.78, KOSPI rose 40.79 points or 1.51% to 2,741.72, Shanghai Composite gained 2.11 points or 0.06% to 3,412.29, Straits Times advanced 16.13 points or 0.57% to 2,841.76 and Taiwan Weighted strengthened 42.95 points or 0.3% to 14,403.35.