Sensex, Nifty maintain gaining rally in late morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks maintained gaining rally in late morning deals, with both Sensex and Nifty holding their strong gains. Positive cues from other Asian markets helped key indices to remain higher. Domestic sentiments were positive, amid private reports that there were more jobs on offer in India in December 2020 compared to the previous month. Both the Monster Employment Index and Naukri Job Speak report saw an uptick in hiring pace in December lead by sectors like healthcare and life sciences and especially in Tier 2 cities. Jobs in the travel and tourism sector continue to reel under the impact of the Coronavirus lockdown.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after the average of household spending in Japan was up 1.1 percent on year in November, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday - coming in at 278,718 yen. That beat expectations for a decline of 1.5 percent following the 1.9 percent increase in October. On a monthly basis, household spending sank 1.8 percent, missing expectations for a loss of 1.3 percent after gaining 2.1 percent in the previous month. The average of monthly income per household stood at 473,294 yen, up 0.6 percent on year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 48546.74, up by 453.42 points or 0.94% after trading in a range of 48365.58 and 48564.63. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.08%, while Small cap index was up by 1.11%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.31%, IT up by 2.10%, Auto up by 1.99%, TECK up by 1.91% and Consumer discretionary up by 1.56%, while Telecom down by 0.02% was the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 3.48%, Power Grid up by 3.20%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.14%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.82% and Ultratech Cement up by 2.76%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 0.58%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.43%, Nestle down by 0.19% and ICICI Bank down by 0.10% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the National Statistical Office (NSO) in its first advanced estimates of national income has stated that gross domestic product (GDP) of India is likely to contract by a record 7.7% during 2020-21 as the COVID-19 pandemic severely hit the key manufacturing and services segments. Amid overall decline in economic activities, some respite was provided by the agriculture sector and utility services like power and gas supply, which have been projected to post positive growth during the current fiscal ending March 2021. As per the data, real GDP or GDP at Constant Prices (2011-12) in the year 2020-21 is likely to attain a level of Rs 134.40 lakh crore, as against the Provisional Estimate of GDP for the year 2019-20 of Rs 145.66 lakh crore. The growth in real GDP during 2020-21 is estimated at -7.7% as compared to the growth rate of 4.2% in 2019-20.

NSO also estimated the Real Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices at Rs 123.39 lakh crore in 2020-21, as against Rs 133.01 lakh crore in 2019-20, showing a contraction of 7.2 percent. GVA does not factor in net taxes. GVA in the key manufacturing sector is likely to see a contraction of 9.4% during 2020-21 as compared to a flat growth of 0.03% in the year ago period. 'Mining and quarrying', and 'trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting' GVAs are likely to contract by 12.4% and 21.4%, respectively. The construction sector too is projected to contract by 12.6%, 'public adminstration, defence and other services' by 3.7%, and 'financial, real estate, and professional services' by 0.8%.

On other hand, 'agriculture, forestry and fishing' sector has been projected to grow at 3.4% during the fiscal. The sector had posted a growth of 4% in 2019-20. Similarly, 'electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services' is likely to post a growth of 2.7% during the year ending March 2021. This compares with 4.1% expansion during 2019-20. Besides, the per capita net national income (NNI) at current prices is estimated at Rs 1,26,968, showing a contraction of 5.4%, as compared to Rs 1,34,226 during 2019-20 with a growth rate of 6.1%. Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) at current prices is estimated at Rs 47.23 lakh crore in 2020-21 as against Rs 54.72 lakh crore in 2019-20. At constant (2011-12) prices, the GFCF is estimated at Rs 37.07 lakh crore in 2020-21 as against Rs 43.34 lakh crore in 2019-20.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14283.35, up by 146.00 points or 1.03% after trading in a range of 14221.65 and 14289.30. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were UPL up by 3.95%, SBI Life Insurance up by 3.70%, Maruti Suzuki up by 3.59%, Wipro up by 3.45% and Power Grid up by 3.20%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 1.74%, HDFC down by 0.54%, Britannia down by 0.50%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.46% and Tata Steel down by 0.41% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 532.26 points or 1.94% to 28,022.39, Hang Seng increased 350.95 points or 1.27% to 27,899.47, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 155.07 points or 1.02% to 15,369.07, Jakarta Composite soared 102.04 points or 1.66% to 6,255.67, KOSPI rose 84.37 points or 2.78% to 3,116.05 and Straits Times advanced 52.67 points or 1.81% to 2,959.64. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 22.24 points or 0.62% to 3,553.96.