Indices maintain upward momentum in late afternoon session

Key benchmark indices maintained their upward momentum in late afternoon session, following gains in Metal, Realty and Consumer Durables stocks amid positive global sentiment. The sentiment remained largely positive as India Ratings has revised its projections for economic contraction to 7.8 per cent for current fiscal (FY21) from the earlier expectation of 11.8 per cent due to easing Covid-19 headwinds and better than expected numbers in the second quarter of the current financial year. The rating and research agency expected FY22 growth to be 9.6 per cent, mainly due to the weak base of FY21. On the sectoral front, mining sector remained in focus, as country’s mining sector will see ‘hectic activities’ in the new year with the central government’s approvals for pending mining reforms expected in January itself and efforts continuing to bolster overall mineral output. The reforms will pave the way for auctioning of at least 500 mineral blocks.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as US President Donald Trump signed a massive coronavirus relief bill, boosting positive sentiment despite ongoing concern over a new strain of Covid-19. European markets were trading higher.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 47350.72, up by 377.18 points or 0.80% after trading in a range of 47148.24 and 47362.16. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.80%, while Small cap index was up by 1.40%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 3.17%, Metal up by 1.90%, Consumer Durables up by 1.63%, Industrials up by 1.52% and Bankex was up by 1.51%, while there were no losers on sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 2.38%, Titan Company up by 2.12%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.00%, Indusind Bank up by 1.63% and HDFC Bank up by 1.61%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.69%, Sun Pharma down by 0.19% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, raising some concerns over the recovery of the auto sector, credit rating agency India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has said that commercial vehicle sales in India could take longer to recover than expected despite improving macro-economic indicators.

As per the report, the light commercial vehicles (LCVs) segment has started to recover as they provide last mile connectivity and because of increased e-commerce activities but medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales are unlikely to recover before the fourth quarter of 2021-22.

Ind-Ra reiterated that MHCV sales could decline by 35-45 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in FY21, though the decline in LCV sales is likely to be contained within 20-25 per cent. The rating agency further said that in FY22, the industry could see sales growth in double digits, especially due to the low base of FY20-FY21.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13865.85, up by 116.60 points or 0.85% after trading in a range of 13811.55 and 13871.50. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 5.00%, JSW Steel up by 4.66%, SBI Life up by 3.14%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.86% and SBI up by 2.34%. On the flip side, Shree Cement down by 0.95%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.76%, Britannia down by 0.50%, Sun Pharma down by 0.28% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.17% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Nikkei 225 surged 197.42 points or 0.74% to 26,854.03, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 151.65 points or 1.06% to 14,483.07, Jakarta Composite soared 84.84 points or 1.41% to 6,093.55, KOSPI rose 1.74 points or 0.06% to 2,808.60 and Shanghai Composite was up by 0.73 points or 0.02% to 3,397.29. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 0.96 points or 0.03% to 2,841.08 and Hang Seng was down by 71.93 points or 0.27% to 26,314.63.

European markets were trading higher, France’s CAC increased 36.80 points or 0.67% to 5,558.81 and Germany’s DAX was up by 194.52 points or 1.43% to 13,781.75.