Bourses maintain upbeat mood

Indian equity indices maintained their upbeat mood in afternoon session, as buying momentum in the equities persisted ahead of the Christmas holiday. Metal, oil and gas and public sector undertaking have elevated with gains on their respective front line stocks. Domestic sentiments remained firm with Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Guruprasad Mohapatra’s statement that the high growth story of foreign direct investments into India will go well in the new year too as there is a growing interest among overseas investors about the country amid the government's continuing reform measures to further improve the business climate. Traders took note of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) State of the Economy report stating that the Indian economy is recovering faster than expected and may post minor positive growth in the third quarter, but efforts need to be redoubled to fight inflation so that it doesn’t hurt the incipient growth impulses.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher ahead of the Christmas break, as Britain and the European Union closed in on a free-trade deal and investors placed bets on global economic recovery prospects. Back on street, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 46694.41, up by 250.23 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 46539.02 and 46912.22. 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 0.25%, while Small cap index was up by 0.53%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.02%, Oil & Gas up by 1.67%, PSU up by 1.53%, Telecom up by 1.53% and Bankex up by 1.37%, while IT down by 0.97%, TECK down by 0.66% and FMCG was down by 0.08% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 3.63%, Axis Bank up by 2.80%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.42%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.10% and SBI was up by 1.92%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.68%, Nestle down by 1.30%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.83%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.77% and Mahindra & Mahindra was down by 0.75% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the apex body of domestic steel makers, Indian Steel Association (ISA) has said that recovering economy, sprouting demand and improving prices raise hopes for India’s battered steel sector as it steps into the new year after covid-19 pandemic-induced disruptions turned 2020 into a disaster for the industry. As the sector experiences signs of better times, it expects good days ahead and surely no more outbreak like that of coronavirus infections.

ISA has stated that Indian steel industry grappled with tough times in running their operations as well as witnessed a sharp plunge in demand for steel soon after the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns disrupted overall economic activities. It also said adverse market conditions forced steelmakers to cut down their operations by up to 50 percent in April. It pointed out that there was a shortage of manpower as many workers migrated to their native places amid the lockdown as well as limitations on the number of staff working at an office or site after gradual unlocking.

It further said the outlook for the sector is turning positive and the industry expects the government will spend more on infrastructure in the new year, which will have a multiplier effect on demand. It also said the demand will show resilience to reach to pre-COVID level in 2021. It noted that in 2019, the demand was around 100.2 million tonne (MT) and that will fall to 81 MT in 2020. It also said helped by government spending and demand coming from steel-intensive sectors, the overall steel demand is expected to reach 100 MT in 2021. It added that demand is clearly visible and going forward is expected to become stronger which augurs well for the industry in 2021.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13687.90, up by 86.80 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 13626.90 and 13739.15. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 4.70%, ONGC up by 3.85%, Axis Bank up by 2.85%, Indian Oil Corporation up by 2.67% and Bajaj Auto was up by 2.54%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.63%, Nestle down by 1.30%, Shree Cement down by 1.18%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.77% and Grasim Industries was down by 0.76% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; Straits Times advanced 8.64 points or 0.3% to 2,842.04, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 57.19 points or 0.4% to 14,280.28, KOSPI rose 47.04 points or 1.7% to 2,806.86, Nikkei 225 surged 143.56 points or 0.54% to 26,668.35 and Hang Seng was up by 43.46 points or 0.16% to 26,386.56. On the other side, Shanghai Composite was down by 19.32 points or 0.57% to 3,363.00.