Key indices continue to trade in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green terrain in morning deals amid positive trends in global markets. Sentiments remained positive with Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari’s statement that India holds huge investment opportunities especially in its vibrant infrastructure sector where projects worth Rs 44 lakh crore are under implementation as part of the Rs 111 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP). He said as per Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision focus was being laid on developing a world-class infrastructure under the NIP, which is first-of-its-kind exercise to bolster development. Market participants also took a note of Union Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the industry and government have to partner to achieve the target of India becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025. He also expressed confidence in the capabilities of the business community as well as startups which can make India the top economy globally in the next 25-30 years. However, gains remain capped as India's exports dipped 8.74 percent on a yearly basis in November to $23.52 billion on account of contraction in shipments of key sectors like petroleum, engineering, chemicals and gems and jewellery, even as trade deficit narrowed to $9.87 billion.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher, as hopes of effective coronavirus vaccines and the growing prospect of more U.S. fiscal stimulus cheered investors. Some support also came as Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 366.8 billion yen in November. That was well shy of expectations for a surplus of 529.8 billion yen and down sharply from 872.9 billion yen in October. However, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed that the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in November, albeit at a slower pace, with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.7. That's up from 49.0, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 46502.75, up by 239.58 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 46479.10 and 46599.02. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.59%, while Small cap index was up by 0.80%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 4.01%, Metal up by 1.50%, Consumer Durables up by 1.08%, Consumer Discretionary up by 1.00% and Auto up by 0.99%, while Telecom down by 0.14% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.17%, ONGC up by 2.19%, Nestle up by 1.99%, Tata Steel up by 1.59% and Power Grid up by 1.58%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 0.98%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.31%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.18%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.10% and HCL Technologies down by 0.06% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has stated that the Budget for FY22 will be vibrant enough to sustain economic revival in the aftermath of Covid-19 disruption. Sitharaman stated Public capital expenditure will be stepped up and the disinvestment programme will gain momentum from now on. She added emphasis has also been laid on state-run banks raising capital from the market.

She mentioned ‘recognising that this is an unusual year, borrowing has been kept absolutely at levels with which we can quickly put the money back in capital expenditure and so on. The emphasis on public expenditure for infrastructure through the public sector undertakings (CPSEs) will be definitely kept up.’
Besides, she said after lagging behind in the first and second quarter of FY21 due to Covid-19 disruptions, the CPSEs’ capex has covered a lot of lost ground in the third quarter. She also noted that the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) is taking steps to mobilise funds from abroad including from sovereign wealth funds.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13640.15, up by 72.30 points or 0.53% after trading in a range of 13622.65 and 13666.45. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.42%, Tata Motors up by 2.49%, ONGC up by 2.04%, Nestle up by 2.02% and Power Grid up by 1.89%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 0.76%, Eicher Motors down by 0.70%, SBI Life Insurance down by 0.60%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.42% and Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.30% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 50.91 points or 0.19% to 26,738.75, Jakarta Composite soared 88.51 points or 1.47% to 6,098.64, Straits Times advanced 11.29 points or 0.4% to 2,868.01, Shanghai Composite gained 5.93 points or 0.18% to 3,373.16, KOSPI rose 11.84 points or 0.43% to 2,768.66, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 223.61 points or 1.59% to 14,292.13 and Hang Seng increased 217.55 points or 0.83% to 26,424.84.