Benchmarks extend gains in late afternoon session

The Indian equity benchmarks extended their gains in late afternoon session, with the Sensex and the Nifty gaining above 400 and 100 points, respectively. Among heavy-weights, HCL Tech, Maruti Suzuki and HDFC exhibited a smart performance. Traders remained optimistic with Assocham’s statement that India's economy is showing decisive signs of a V-shaped recovery in 2021 with the return of consumer confidence, robust financial markets, an uptick in manufacturing and exporters braving it out in the global market with never-say-die spirit. Local investors also cheered with report that India’s exports grew 16.22 percent YoY to $6.21 billion in the first week of January, mainly driven by healthy growth in pharmaceuticals, and engineering sectors, reflecting signs of revival. Imports during January 1-7 this year too increased by 1.07 percent to $8.7 billion as against $8.6 billion in the same period of 2020. On the sectoral front, banking stocks remained in focus, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expressed some concerns over zero-coupon bonds for the recapitalisation of public sector banks (PSBs) and discussion is on between the central bank and Finance Ministry to find a solution.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed amid traders weighed the implications of higher Treasury yields amid President-elect Joe Biden’s push for huge fiscal aid. European markets were trading lower.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49213.18, up by 430.67 points or 0.88% after trading in a range of 48956.38 and 49269.02. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.29%, while Small cap index was down by 0.31%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 3.68%, TECK up by 3.20%, Auto up by 2.15%, FMCG up by 1.02% and Telecom was up by 0.70%, while Metal down by 1.64%, Capital Goods down by 1.19%, Power down by 1.03%, Energy down by 1.02% and Basic Materials was down by 0.68% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 5.13%, HCL Tech up by 4.83%, Maruti Suzuki up by 3.14%, HDFC up by 2.40% and TCS up by 2.16%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.02%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.76%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.76%, SBI down by 1.52% and Reliance Industries down by 1.45% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, automobile dealers' body, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) in its latest report has showed that passenger vehicle (PV) retail sales in December 2020 witnessed a year-on-year increase of 23.99 per cent to 2,71,249 units, as compared to 2,18,775 units in December 2019.

As per the report, two-wheeler sales increased 11.88 per cent to 14,24,620 units last month, as compared to 12,73,318 units in December 2019, while commercial vehicle sales slipped 13.52 per cent to 51,454 units in December 2020, as against 59,497 units a year ago.

Besides, FADA noted that three-wheeler sales fell 52.75 per cent to 27,715 units last month, from 58,651 units in December 2019. Tractor sales, however, grew by 35.49 per cent to 69,105 units last month, against 51,004 units in the same month of 2019. Further, total sales across categories increased 11.01 per cent to 18,44,143 units last month compared to 16,61,245 units in December 2019.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14461.70, up by 114.45 points or 0.80% after trading in a range of 14383.10 and 14479.70. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 5.58%, Infosys up by 5.16%, HCL Tech up by 4.92%, Wipro up by 4.40% and Maruti Suzuki up by 3.04%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 2.78%, Adani Ports down by 2.20%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.08%, Hindalco down by 1.90% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.89% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Jakarta Composite soared 125.10 points or 2% to 6,382.94, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 93.35 points or 0.6% to 15,557.30 and Hang Seng was up by 30.00 points or 0.11% to 27,908.22. On the flip side, KOSPI fell 3.73 points or 0.12% to 3,148.45, Straits Times trembled 7.97 points or 0.27% to 2,985.22 and Shanghai Composite was down by 38.61 points or 1.08% to 3,531.50.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 30.64 points or 0.45% to 6,842.62, France’s CAC decreased 29.94 points or 0.52% to 5,676.94 and Germany’s DAX was down by 121.73 points or 0.87% to 13,927.80.