Domestic bourses maintain momentum

Domestic bourses continued to trade in fine contour on continued buying by funds and retail investors with both Sensex and Nifty adding gains of 289 and 87 points respectively. Sentiments got boost as investments through participatory notes (P-notes) in the Indian capital market surged to a 27-month high of Rs 83,114 crore at November-end driven by continued liquidity and improvement in second quarter corporate earnings. The value of P-note investments in Indian markets -- equity, debt and hybrid securities -- increased to Rs 83,114 crore at November-end from Rs 78,686 crore at October-end. Traders also remain energized as S&P Global Ratings raised India’s growth projection for the current fiscal to (-) 7.7 percent from (-) 9 percent estimated earlier on rising demand and falling COVID infection rates. Sectoral indices were trading firm at this point of time and realty was the top gainer on BSE, up by 3.86% followed by metal and consumer durables indices, trading up over 1%. Apart from blue chips, broader indices too equally participated in the rally supporting their larger peers.

On the global front; Asian markets were trading firm after revived hopes for more aid for the U.S. economy broke a four-day losing streak on Wall Street. Back on street, the overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of advances which thumped declines in the ratio of 1849:980; while 165 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 46552.32, up by 289.15 points or 0.63% after trading in a range of 46478.10 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 0.88%, while Small cap index was up by 1.02%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 3.86%, Metal up by 1.36%, Consumer Durables up by 1.31%, Capital Goods up by 1.24% and Consumer Discretionary was up by 1.14%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.30%, ONGC up by 2.09%, Nestle up by 1.85%, HDFC up by 1.74% and Larsen & Toubro was up by 1.68%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 0.82%, HCL Tech down by 0.50%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.39%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.34% and ICICI Bank was down by 0.26% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, declining for the second straight month, India’s merchandise exports fell 8.74% to $23.52 billion in November 2020 as compared to same period of last year, on account of contraction in shipments of key sectors like petroleum, engineering, chemicals and gems and jewellery. Trade deficit, gap between imports and exports, narrowed to $9.87 billion in November 2020 as compared to $ 12.75 billion in the corresponding month a year ago.

As per the data released by the Commerce Ministry, merchandise exports fell by 8.74% to $23.52 billion in November 2020, as compared to $25.77 billion in the same month a year ago. In Rupee terms, it down up by 5.20% to Rs 1,74,559.49 crore in October 2020, as compared to Rs 1,84,142.27 crore in November 2019. Cumulative value of exports for the period April- November 2020-21 was $173.66 billion as against $211.17 billion during the period April- November 2019-20, registering a negative growth of 17.76%.  In Rupee terms, it was down by 12.70% to Rs 12,95,935.38 crore from Rs 14,84,386.50 crore.

Non-petroleum and Non Gems and Jewellery exports in November 2020 were $19.29 billion, as compared to $19.37 billion in November 2019, exhibiting a negative growth of 0.40%. Non-petroleum and Non Gems and Jewellery exports in April- November 2020-21 were $144.11 billion, as compared to $157.09 billion for the corresponding period in 2019-20.

On the other hand, imports during November 2020 decreased by 13.32% to $33.39 billion as compared to $38.52 billion in November 2019, while in rupee terms it was down by 9.96% to Rs 2,47,839.85 crore from Rs 2,75,255.20 crore in November 2019. Cumulative value of imports for the period April- November 2020-21 was $215.69 billion, as against $324.59 billion during the period April- November 2019-20, registering a negative growth of 33.55%. In rupee terms, it was Rs 16,09,382.96 crore, down by 29.43% from Rs 22,80,659.04 crore in the same period last year.  

Oil imports in November 2020 were $6.27 billion, which were 43.36% lower, compared to $11.07 billion in November 2019. Oil imports in April- November 2020-21 were $44.11 billion which were 48.71% lower compared to $85.99 billion, over the same period last year. Non-oil imports during November 2020 were estimated at $27.12 billion which was 1.20% lower than non-oil imports of $27.45 billion in November 2019. Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports were $24.10 billion in November 2020, down 1.67% over the same period of last year. Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports were $159.28 billion in April- November 2020-21, down 26.94%, over the same period of last year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13654.95, up by 87.10 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 13622.65 and 13666.45. There were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.36%, Divis Lab up by 2.08%, ONGC up by 2.04%, Tata Motors up by 1.96% and Nestle was up by 1.87%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 0.81%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.76%, GAIL India down by 0.56%, HCL Tech down by 0.44% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 0.38% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading firm; Straits Times advanced 15.71 points or 0.55% to 2,872.43, Nikkei 225 surged 69.56 points or 0.26% to 26,757.40, Jakarta Composite soared 107.46 points or 1.79% to 6,117.59, KOSPI rose 14.97 points or 0.54% to 2,771.79, Hang Seng increased 204.64 points or 0.78% to 26,411.93, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 235.94 points or 1.68% to 14,304.46 and Shanghai Composite was up by 5.36 points or 0.16% to 3,372.59.