Domestic markets trade in fine-fettle in early deals; ONGC lead gainers

Indian equity benchmarks made optimistic start on Thursday and are trading firm in early deals with notable gains of around 0.80% each in early deals on hopes for a swift economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Except IT, buying in all the sector indices, led by Metal, Telecom and Oil & Gas supported the markets. Sentiments got a boost with Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur’s statement that India will have a strong economic revival thanks to its well-planned easing of lockdown. He also defended the contentious farm sector reforms, saying the Narendra Modi government had the courage to do what others could not. Traders took note of report that Covaxin, a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Bharat Biotech, showed long-term antibody and T- cell (immune) memory responses three months after the shot in phase 1 volunteers and tolerable safety outcomes in Phase 2 study, the city-based company has said, suggesting the antibodies may persist for six to 12 months.

Global cues remained supportive with most of the Asian markets were trading higher despite the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street. Optimism about a potential Brexit deal and hopes for economic recovery helped offset worries about the uncertainty regarding a US coronavirus relief package. Trading activity in the Asian region remained subdued ahead of the Christmas holidays.

Back home, banking stocks were in focus as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das asked banks to take proactive measures to strengthen their resilience and lending capacity by raising capital. In scrip specific development, Dish TV India gained after the government announced new guidelines for direct to home (DTH) services in the country and updated licensing norms for DTH operators. Bharti Airtel rallied amid reports that it has added the maximum number of wireless subscribers for the third month in a row in October.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 46815.18, up by 371.00 points or 0.80% after trading in a range of 46615.39 and 46821.90. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.85%, while Small cap index was up by 1.08%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.23%, Telecom up by 2.71%, Oil & Gas up by 2.21%, PSU up by 1.89%, Basic Materials up by 1.80%, while IT down by 0.14% was the sole losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 4.41%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.64%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.37%, Axis Bank up by 2.06% and NTPC up by 1.57%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.05%, Infosys down by 0.75%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.31%, TCS down by 0.14% and Nestle down by 0.09% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur has said that India will have a strong economic revival thanks to its well-planned easing of lockdown. He also defended the contentious farm sector reforms, and said that the Narendra Modi government had the courage to do what others could not. He added that year 2020 is a pandemic year, but India will look back on it as a year of historic reforms, a year of tectonic transformation and year of opportunities in the wake of adversities.

Thakur has stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi rightly asked the countrymen to find opportunity in the adversity and India has seen an opportunity in the wake of adversity. He noted that this year 2020 offered India an opportunity to forge a new vision of globalization, focus on the shared interest of humanity as a whole. He also said this year has given India an opportunity to emerge as the engine of the global growth. He added that like every other country, India too saw its economic growth and activities fall during the coronavirus pandemic.

The minister further said the atma-nirbhar package of Rs 21 lakh crore announced by the Modi government was roughly 19 percent of the GDP. Talking about the new farm laws which some sections of farmers are opposing, he said people had been talking about bringing changes in the sector but could not do it. He also said ‘we had the courage to bring in agriculture reforms, which are going to help both farmers and labourers.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13710.15, up by 109.05 points or 0.80% after trading in a range of 13643.95 and 13711.10. There were 43 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 4.41%, GAIL India up by 3.42%, Tata Motors up by 3.25%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.75% and IOC up by 2.67%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.11%, Infosys down by 0.69%, Cipla down by 0.54%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.36% and Nestle down by 0.18% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 100.96 points or 0.38% to 26,625.75, Straits Times rose 7.79 points or 0.27% to 2,841.19, Hang Seng jumped 56.04 points or 0.21% to 26,399.14, Taiwan Weighted gained 76.20 points or 0.54% to 14,299.29 and KOSPI soared 31.89 points or 1.16% to 2,791.71, while Shanghai Composite was down by 7.11 points or 0.21% to 3,375.21.