Markets continue to trade higher

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade firm in afternoon session on account of buying in front line blue chip counters. The sentiments got support as SBI Research in its latest report scaled up its projections for the economy, projecting gross domestic product (GDP) to contract 7.4 per cent during the current financial year (FY21) compared to its earlier forecast of a 10.9 per cent fall. Traders were also getting comfort 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. Meanwhile, India dropped one spot to 131 among 189 countries in the 2020 human development index, according to a report released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Human Development Index is the measure of a nation's health, education, and standards of living.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors kept an eye on US stimulus progress and the rollout of vaccines. Back on street, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above the psychological 13,700 and 46,800 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive, there were 1,677 shares on the gaining side against 1,114 shares on the losing side, while 173 shares remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 46821.82, up by 155.36 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 46627.60 and 46834.35. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.67%, while Small cap index was up by 0.62%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.96%, Healthcare up by 0.89%, Realty up by 0.87%, Bankex up by 0.66% and Consumer Discretionary was up by 0.45%, while Metal down by 0.45%, FMCG down by 0.32%, Oil & Gas down by 0.31%, Telecom down by 0.23% and Utilities was down by 0.18% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up by 1.86%, Indusind Bank up by 1.76%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.43%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.97% and HDFC Bank was up by 0.89%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.07%, Power Grid down by 0.76%, ONGC down by 0.73%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.70% and Maruti Suzuki was down by 0.69% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) has said that auto components industry will see a double-digit decline in growth in the current fiscal (FY21). It can take anywhere between two to three years, depending on how steep the recovery is for the component makers to work out a whole sector Capex planning.

In the first half of the fiscal (H1FY21), it said the turnover of the automotive components industry stood at Rs 1.19 lakh crore ($15.9 billion), registering a de-growth of 34 percent as compared to Rs 1.82 lakh crore ($26.2 billion) in the first half of the previous fiscal. It noted that the performance was mainly affected by the first quarter performance when the auto sector had almost ‘zero revenue’ due to the nationwide lockdown, with restrictions continuing in the second quarter as well.

ACMA further said the auto components sector has been set back by three to four years due to the pandemic and it could take two to three years for the sector to reach the peak levels of 2018-19. However, it said the performance of the industry during the festive season has been heartening and there are indications that the vehicle demand, in the coming months will be sustained. It added that this, together with the increased focus of the auto industry on deep-localisation and the recent announcement of PLI schemes for the automotive sector and cell/battery manufacturing by the government, augur well towards making the auto-component industry a self-reliant one. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13730.80, up by 48.10 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 13673.55 and 13732.30. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Divis Lab up by 2.61%, Indusind Bank up by 2.12%, HDFC up by 1.86%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.56% and UPL was up by 1.36%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 1.20%, Adani Ports down by 0.97%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.97%, Power Grid down by 0.84% and Bajaj Auto was down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 49.27 points or 0.18% to 26,806.67, Jakarta Composite soared 26.22 points or 0.43% to 6,144.62, Hang Seng increased 71.38 points or 0.27% to 26,531.67 and Shanghai Composite was up by 28.23 points or 0.84% to 3,395.21.

On the other hand; Straits Times trembled 9.51 points or 0.33% to 2,863.29, KOSPI fell 1.36 points or 0.05% to 2,770.43 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 45.53 points or 0.32% to 14,258.93.