Local indices trade flat with positive bias in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks were trading flat with a positive bias in morning deals ahead of the expiry of December series derivative contracts later in the day. Traders took some support with report that President Vladimir Putin expressed hope that next year Russia and India would continue to work towards stepping up constructive bilateral cooperation as well as coordinating efforts to address topical issues on the regional and global agendas. Traders took note of report that Federation of Indian Exports Organisations (FIEO) President Sharad Kumar Saraf stated that the country's exports may reach USD 290 billion by the end of this fiscal (FY21) as the outbound shipments were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic during the first half of the year. He also said that 2021 would bring a ray of hope and optimism for the exporting community. However, gains remain capped as some concern came with Finance ministry’s report that total liabilities of the government increased to Rs 107.04 lakh crore at end of Q2 (July- September) of FY21 from Rs 101.3 lakh crore at end of Q1 (April-June) of FY21. This represented a quarter-on-quarter increase of 5.6 percent in Q2 FY21.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, following the modest gains overnight on Wall Street after U.K. regulators approved a coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford for emergency use. Back home, on the sectoral front, aviation stocks were in focus with Aviation regulator -- Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has stated that the coronavirus-induced suspension of scheduled international passenger flights has been extended till January 31. However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 47778.20, up by 31.98 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 47602.12 and 47804.17. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.27%, while Small cap index up by 0.52%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.89%, Realty up by 0.73%, Consumer Durables up by 0.49%, Industrials up by 0.37% and Consumer Discretionary up by 0.35%, while Utilities down by 0.52%, Basic Materials down by 0.37%, FMCG down by 0.29%, TECK down by 0.27% and IT down by 0.25% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.28%, ICICI Bank up by 1.05%, HDFC up by 0.71%, ONGC up by 0.64% and Sun Pharma up by 0.62%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.03%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.77%, NTPC down by 0.76%, Power Grid down by 0.74% and Axis Bank down by 0.62% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Federation of Indian Exports Organisations (FIEO) President Sharad Kumar Saraf has said the country's exports may reach USD 290 billion by the end of this fiscal (FY21) as the outbound shipments were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic during the first half of the year. He also said that 2021 would bring a ray of hope and optimism for the exporting community.

He said ‘we are confident that a V- shaped recovery will be witnessed in world trade and we will recover much more from what we lost in 2020. Since the first and second quarter have been pretty bad, we may end the financial year 2020-21 with exports of around USD 290 billion’.

However, he added that looking into the good order booking position for food including processed food, pharma, medical and diagnostic products, technical textiles, chemical, plastics, electronics and networking products, ‘we should endeavor to take exports to USD 350 billion in 2021-22’. Besides, he suggested that the government should focus on sectors where major imports are happening and boost traditional sectors, which are important for exports as well as employment.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13990.70, up by 8.75 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 13936.45 and 13997.85. There were 22 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.37%, Tata Motors up by 1.19%, ICICI Bank up by 0.94%, HDFC up by 0.87% and Cipla up by 0.75%. On the flip side, Shree Cement down by 1.63%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.07%, NTPC down by 0.96%, Grasim Industries down by 0.90% and GAIL India down by 0.85% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 84.02 points or 0.31% to 27,231.13, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 16.77 points or 0.11% to 14,704.47 and Shanghai Composite gained 28.34 points or 0.83% to 3,442.79.

On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 25.41 points or 0.89% to 2,843.81.