Sensex, Nifty continue to trade in green terrain

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green terrain during late morning deals, with both Sensex and Nifty managing to keep their heads above water. Positive cues from other Asian markets were helping key indices to remain higher. Traders were positive, as a study by the World Economic Forum showed that few economies in the world are ready for long-term prosperity through improved public services, green investments and digitization. The special edition of the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report, which examined how the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis can build productive, sustainable and inclusive economic systems, found that the countries with advanced digital economies, strong social safety nets and robust healthcare systems have managed the impact of the pandemic more effectively.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after South Korea's unemployment rate fell in November. The data from Statistics Korea showed that the jobless rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 4.1 percent in November from 4.2 percent in October. In the same month last year, the unemployment rate was 3.6 percent. On an unadjusted basis, the unemployment rate decreased to 3.4 percent in November from 3.1 percent in the previous month. The number of unemployed decreased to 967,000 in November from 1.028 million in the preceding month. Compared to a year ago, the figure rose by 101,000 persons.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 46781.02, up by 114.56 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 46627.60 and 46825.74. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.69%, while Small cap index was up by 0.62%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.12%, Healthcare up by 0.94%, Realty up by 0.76%, Consumer Discretionary up by 0.51% and Basic Materials up by 0.45%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.30%, Metal down by 0.28%, FMCG down by 0.28%, Utilities down by 0.15% and Telecom down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 1.85%, Indusind Bank up by 1.76%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.43%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.82% and HDFC Bank up by 0.80%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 0.94%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.94%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.78%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.64% and ITC down by 0.63% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to attract greater investments from across the world, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the government is making efforts to deregulate the economy. He said the government has opened up defence, manufacturing, mining, finance and capital market sectors.

The government has further liberalised agricultural laws to encourage more investments in agri-processing and open up markets so as to increase the income of farmers, he said at CII's Partnership Summit. The Minister said ‘India is making efforts to deregulate its economy for greater investments from other parts of the world’.

Goyal further said India provides huge opportunity for investments, and procurement of goods and services. He added ‘India is looking forward for working with friends and neighbours, and having a global footprint. India is working to turn the COVID crisis into an opportunity, and is confident of reaching the target of $5 trillion economy by 2025, and $10 trillion in another 7-10 years’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13717.75, up by 35.05 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 13673.55 and 13730.75. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Divis Lab up by 2.80%, Indusind Bank up by 2.04%, HDFC up by 1.86%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 1.50% and Shree Cement up by 1.40%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 1.37%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.06%, Power Grid down by 0.92%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.86% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.84% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 52.20 points or 0.2% to 26,809.60, Hang Seng increased 21.50 points or 0.08% to 26,481.79, Shanghai Composite gained 21.26 points or 0.63% to 3,388.24 and Jakarta Composite soared 19.77 points or 0.32% to 6,138.17. On the flip side, KOSPI fell 10.63 points or 0.38% to 2,761.16, Straits Times trembled 14.14 points or 0.49% to 2,858.66 and Taiwan Weighted dropped 71.81 points or 0.5% to 14,232.65.