Key indices surge for third straight session

Indian equity benchmarks surged for the third straight session on Thursday, led by gains in energy, banking and finance stocks amid positive global cues. The benchmarks staged a gap up opening, as 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. Sentiments remained up-beat 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.

However, frontline indices trimmed some of their gains in late morning session but regained traction to end higher, taking support from Crisil Ratings’ report that with extensive recovery efforts by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and uptick in economic activity, the collection efficiency ratios of its rated securitised pools for November 2020 payouts have improved to near pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels for most of the asset classes. Some support also came 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, with an aim to support the ongoing revival in economic activities. Adding to the optimism, describing India as an attractive investment destination for the energy sector, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan has said that several policy reforms have enhanced the ease-of-doing-business.

On the global front, Asian markets ended higher on Thursday, as optimism about a potential Brexit deal and hopes for economic recovery helped offset worries about the uncertainty regarding a U.S. coronavirus relief package. Trading activity in the Asian region remained subdued ahead of the Christmas holidays. European markets were trading higher, as the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine propped up hopes that the economic recovery can gain momentum next year. While Western nations accelerated vaccination programs, the European Union is preparing to kick off vaccinations across the bloc on Sunday. Back home, on the sectoral front, there was some reaction in steel sector stocks with report that recovering economy, sprouting demand and improving prices raise hopes for the country's battered steel sector as it steps into the New Year after pandemic-induced disruptions turned 2020 into a disaster for the industry. Stocks related to telecom sector too were buzzing as investment information firm ICRA stated that telecom service providers (telcos) are expected to dial in next round of tariff hikes over the next one or two quarters which is likely to drive revenue growth in the next financial year (FY2021-22).

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 529.36 points or 1.14% to 46,973.54, while the CNX Nifty was up by 148.15 points or 1.09% to 13,749.25.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 47,053.40 and 46,539.02, respectively and there were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.06%, while Small cap index was up by 0.59%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 2.29%, Bankex up by 1.77%, Finance up by 1.61%, Oil & Gas up by 1.58% and Metal up by 1.35%, while IT down by 0.59%, Realty down by 0.45%, TECK down by 0.39%, Capital Goods down by 0.05% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 3.04%, Sun Pharma up by 2.67%, ONGC up by 2.59%, Reliance Industries up by 2.58% and HDFC up by 2.23%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.32%, Nestle down by 0.78%, Indusind Bank down by 0.51%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.34% and HCL Technologies down by 0.30% 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 traded in a range of 13,771.75 and 13,626.90 and there were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 3.90%, Sun Pharma up by 3.18%, Axis Bank up by 2.84%, Reliance Industries up by 2.53% and Indian Oil Corporation up by 2.38%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.25%, Wipro down by 0.97%, Nestle down by 0.82%, HCL Technologies down by 0.61% and UPL down by 0.59% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 4.06 points or 0.06% to 6,499.81 and France’s CAC increased 9.07 points or 0.16% to 5,536.66.

Asian markets ended higher on Thursday amid renewed optimism over a potential Brexit deal and ahead of the Christmas holiday, even after US President Donald Trump's threat to veto the stimulus bill. Moreover, Covid-19 vaccine rollout also buoyed expectations of global economic recovery from the pandemic. Seoul shares ended up after South Korea signed deals with Pfizer Inc and Johnson & Johnson's Janssen to import corona virus vaccines to cover up to 16 million people. Though, Chinese shares declined on reports of an antitrust investigation into Alibaba, the country’s biggest tech company, a month after authorities halted sister company Ant Group’s $37 billion initial public offering.