Benchmarks trim losses in afternoon deals

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some of their losses in afternoon session, but continue to trade below the neutral lines, with Sensex and Nifty trading below 46900 and 13750 marks, respectively. Stocks from IT, technology and healthcare counters were supporting the markets, while those from public sector undertaking, oil and gas and telecom counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. Traders took some solace as foreign portfolio investors (FPI) pumped in Rs 54,980 crore in Indian markets in December so far amidst availability of excess liquidity in global markets and expectation of fresh stimulus package by various central banks, among others. As per the depositories’ data, FPIs invested a net Rs 48,858 crore into equities and Rs 6,122 crore into debt segment between December 1 and 18. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher despite surging virus cases and the imposition of a strict lockdown in England. Back on street, in scrip specific development, Niyogin Fintech surged on completing acquisition of 51% stake in iServeU and Oberoi Realty jumped as its arm acquires hotel property in Mumbai. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 46898.23, down by 62.46 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 46693.95 and 47055.69. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.25%, while Small cap index was down by 0.05%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.02%, TECK up by 0.84%, Healthcare up by 0.59%, Realty up by 0.41% and Energy was up by 0.35% while, PSU down by 1.31%, Oil & Gas down by 1.23%, Auto down by 1.20%, Power down by 1.16%, Utilities down by 1.15% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 1.53%, Sun Pharma up by 1.40%, HCL Tech up by 1.40%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.93% and Reliance Industries was up by 0.89%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.95%, ONGC down by 2.63%, Power Grid down by 2.06%, ICICI Bank down by 1.99% and Indusind Bank was down by 1.79% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said India would be the engine of global growth, along with a few other countries, contributing to the revival of the global economy in a significant way. Sitharaman said ‘I am not saying we will be the only ones, but will be a significant contributor to the global economic revival. We owe it to the humanity that we all put our heads together, pan up something and come up with a budget which can play its role in reviving India.’

She said India would be having its first budget soon post a pandemic, which makes it necessary to have a budget in sync with the changing needs of the time. She said investment in health is going to be critical, not just to keep lives safer, but also to make health and health-related expenditures more predictable. She said ‘and therefore in the health sector, more funding for infrastructure, bringing a private partnership for it, not just providing buildings of hospitals, but also providing the capacities to run these hospitals... So if looking at health itself... you're looking at what are the kind of things you can provide the patient, inclusive of technology-driven advices, expert consultations. And so on the other end is to create such soft capacities of doctors, specialists, nurses, paramedics, so that there is a constant flow.’

She also said a good example of the government's policy push of an Atmanirbhar Bharat would be the capacity India has shown to produce vaccines, to manufacture the formulation that the vaccine developers have given.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13733.45, down by 27.10 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 13674.40 and 13777.50. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 2.53%, Sun Pharma up by 1.53%, HCL Tech up by 1.50%, Infosys up by 1.44% and Reliance Industries was up by 1.03%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.22%, GAIL India down by 2.64%, Divis Lab down by 2.53%, ONGC down by 2.53% and Tata Motors was down by 2.46% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; Shanghai Composite gained 19.32 points or 0.57% to 3,414.22, Straits Times advanced 1.47 points or 0.05% to 2,850.45, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 135.00 points or 0.95% to 14,384.96, Jakarta Composite soared 88.72 points or 1.45% to 6,193.04 and KOSPI was up by 6.47 points or 0.23% to 2,778.65.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 slipped 48.97 points or 0.18% to 26,714.42 and Hang Seng was down by 56.31 points or 0.21% to 26,442.29.