Sensex, Nifty remain higher in late morning deals

Firm trade continued over the Dalal Street in late morning deals, with both Sensex and Nifty trading higher. Positive cues from other Asian markets helped key indices to remain positive. Traders got relief, after Industry body CII said it has demanded higher allocation of fund for food processing schemes and tax incentives for exports of agriculture and food items. In a pre-Budget meeting with senior finance ministry officials, CII highlighted the need to find ways for tapping export markets for wheat. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after Malaysia's consumer prices fall further in November. The data from the Department of Statistics showed that consumer prices declined 1.7 percent year-on-year in November, following a 1.5 percent fall in October. The annual fall was largely driven by the decline in transportation cost, as prices fell 11.1 percent. Prices for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels declined 3.3 percent yearly in November. Prices for clothing and footwear decreased 0.5 percent and those of furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance fell 0.1 percent.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 46194.45, up by 187.76 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 45899.10 and 46265.44. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.28%, while Small cap index was up by 2.00%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 3.49%, IT up by 1.71%, TECK up by 1.44%, Industrials up by 1.19% and Healthcare up by 1.04%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.22% and Consumer Durables down by 0.01% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 2.27%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.11%, Indusind Bank up by 1.58%, SBI up by 1.55% and Infosys up by 1.53%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 1.27%, Titan Company down by 1.02%, HDFC down by 0.79%, HDFC Bank down by 0.40% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.23% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with a view to mobilise Rs 111 lakh crore required for funding of the ambitious national infrastructure pipeline, Financial Services Secretary Debasish Panda has said that the government plans to set up a Development Finance Institution (DFI) in the next three to four months. He said ‘We need a development financial institution as infra financing needs patient capital, and banks are currently not suited for lending for long term projects which do not generate any cash for years’.

He added even deepening the bond market with regard to infrastructure financing is a matter which is receiving attention of the government and there is a need to do something more in order to have a robust bond market for infrastructure financing. he said ‘To provide funding, to enhance credit rating of projects, a DFI is needed, and we are actively working on it, and soon such an institution will be in place. We are in the process of finalising details such as shareholding of the government and whether such a body will be formed through a statute’. He noted ‘The DFI will be a catalyst, and would fund projects where others are not willing to enter because of the risks involved’.

Further, Panda said the work is in progress and the DFI should become a reality soon, may be by the end of the current financial year or early next year. He said the DFI will have a key developmental role apart from the financing role. He added ‘All kinds of innovating financial mechanisms is what this new institution will be expected to do’. Talking about the financial health of banks, Panda said that 11 out of the 12 public sector banks have posted profits as on September 30, 2020. He noted that even gross Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) have gone down substantially and the provision coverage ratio has increased.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13520.15, up by 53.85 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 13432.20 and 13542.70. There were 33 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining, while 1 stock remains unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Wipro up by 4.41%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.36%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.15%, Cipla up by 2.13% and Infosys up by 1.60%. On the flip side, Divis Lab down by 1.22%, ONGC down by 1.21%, HDFC down by 0.89%, Titan Company down by 0.83% and Hindalco down by 0.54% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 89.29 points or 0.34% to 26,208.54, Nikkei 225 surged 82.02 points or 0.31% to 26,518.41, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 46.82 points or 0.33% to 14,224.28, Shanghai Composite gained 28.57 points or 0.85% to 3,385.35, KOSPI rose 26.35 points or 0.96% to 2,760.03 and Straits Times advanced 0.28 points or 0.01% to 2,827.60. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite lost 26.58 points or 0.44% to 5,996.71.