Benchmarks extend gains in late afternoon session

Indian benchmarks extended their gains in late afternoon session, with the Sensex and Nifty gaining above 100 and 30 points, respectively. Traders were seen piling up positions in Energy, Industrials and Capital Goods sector while selling was witnessed in Metal, Consumer Durables and Consumer Discretionary sectors’ stocks. Traders took support after India’s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) eased to 1.22% (provisional) for the month of December 2020 as compared to 2.76% during the corresponding month of the previous year. Component wise, primary articles index having weight of 22.62%, declined by (-3.11%) to 146.5 (provisional) in December 2020 from 151.2 (provisional) for the month of November 2020. Sector wise, textiles industry remained in focus, as rating agency ICRA has said the textile industry's performance will recover to pre-Covid levels in the next fiscal on account of boost in demands from domestic as well as export markets. The agency assigned outlook for the sector as ‘stable’ for FY2022. It added that the recovery in the domestic textile sector, that picked up pace in Q3 FY2021, is likely to continue in the upcoming quarters. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed after a lackluster day on Wall Street, where major indexes spent the day drifting up and down near their record highs. European markets were trading higher as hopes of a large stimulus under incoming U.S. President Joe Biden and upbeat Chinese export data boosted sentiment.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49605.95, up by 113.63 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 49182.37 and 49663.58. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.16%, while Small cap index was up by 0.13%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.80%, Energy up by 1.01%, Industrials up by 0.90%, FMCG up by 0.78% and Oil & Gas was up by 0.70%, while Metal down by 1.23%, Consumer Durables down by 0.75%, Basic Materials down by 0.64%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.44% and Bankex was down by 0.12% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 2.80%, TCS up by 2.65%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.13%, ITC up by 1.21% and Reliance Industries up by 1.18%. On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 2.19%, Asian Paints down by 1.55%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.47%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.45% and Titan Company down by 1.31% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) eased to 1.22% (provisional) for the month of December 2020 as compared to 2.76% during the corresponding month of the previous year. Component wise, primary articles index having weight of 22.62%, declined by (-3.11%) to 146.5 (provisional) in December 2020 from 151.2 (provisional) for the month of November 2020. Prices of Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas, Minerals and Non-food Articles increased in December 2020 as compared to November 2020, while prices of Food Articles declined in December 2020 as compared to November 2020.

Fuel & Power index, having weight of 13.15%, increased by (3.18%) to 94.2 (provisional) in December 2020 from 91.3 (provisional) for the month of November 2020. Prices of Mineral Oils and Coal increased in December 2020 as compared to November 2020. But, prices of electricity remain unchanged.

Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23%, increased by (1.40%) to 123.0 (provisional) in December 2020 from 121.3 (provisional) for the month of November 2020. Meanwhile, for the month of October 2020 the final Wholesale Price Index and inflation rate for 'All Commodities' (Base: 2011-12=100) stood at 123.6 and (1.31%) respectively.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14605.30, up by 40.45 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 14471.50 and 14617.80. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were UPL up by 4.33%, Indusind Bank up by 2.93%, TCS up by 2.81%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.04% and BPCL up by 1.93%. On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 2.18%, JSW Steel down by 2.02%, Asian Paints down by 1.47%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.46% and Ultratech Cement down by 1.44% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Hang Seng increased 261.26 points or 0.93% to 28,496.86, Nikkei 225 surged 241.67 points or 0.85% to 28,698.26, Straits Times advanced 22.66 points or 0.76% to 3,000.17 and KOSPI was up by 1.64 points or 0.05% to 3,149.93. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite lost 6.89 points or 0.11% to 6,428.32, Shanghai Composite declined 32.75 points or 0.91% to 3,565.90 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 62.79 points or 0.4% to 15,707.19.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 21.45 points or 0.32% to 6,766.97, France’s CAC increased 10.70 points or 0.19% to 5,673.37 and Germany’s DAX was up by 60.49 points or 0.43% to 14,000.20.