Equity markets trade near neutral line with positive bias

Indian equity markets again entered into positive territory in late afternoon session. Traders found support , as SBI Research said after clocking record collections in December 2020 at Rs 1.15 lakh crore, the January 2021 GST collection is expected to be in the range of Rs 1.21-1.23 lakh crore and may still have an upside. Meanwhile, the government's surplus cash balances have increased significantly recently to Rs 3.34 lakh crore as on January 28, from Rs 1.08 lakh crore in September 2020 and Rs 2.26 lakh crore in December. Traders took note that International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that India must ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic is well contained and the distribution and rollout of vaccines are well managed in a timely manner. It also insisted that securing a robust and sustained economic recovery will require a bold and multifaceted policy response, including investment in health infrastructure to further contain the pandemic and to ensure the availability and effective distribution of vaccines and treatments.

On the global front, all Asian markets were trading lower amid worries about rising coronavirus cases, Wall Street volatility and U.S. economic aid plans. European markets were trading lower tracking declines in Asian and U.S. equity markets on caution around a retail trading frenzy that gripped Wall Street this week.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 46951.85, up by 77.49 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 46564.16 and 47423.66. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.44%, while Small cap index was up by 0.29%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.66%, Realty up by 1.37%, PSU up by 0.73%, Energy up by 0.61% and Basic Materials was up by 0.09%, while Telecom down by 1.64%, TECK down by 1.41%, IT down by 1.31%, Auto down by 1.17% and Capital Goods was down by 0.99% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 6.07%, Sun Pharma up by 3.22%, ICICI Bank up by 2.41%, HDFC Bank up by 2.12% and SBI up by 1.86%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 4.76%, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.56%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.10%, Infosys down by 1.52% and TCS down by 1.51% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with electric vehicles (EVs) fast becoming the new reality, Union Minister for MSME and Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari has expressed a need to emerge as pioneers in developing leading battery and power-train technologies.

Besides, the Minister has called upon the EV sector to shift towards a completely indigenous battery technology in the coming years. This could be metal-air, metal-ion and other potential technologies in the R&D pipeline.

Gadkari also pointed out the need to achieve the goal of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat in Transport Sector, adding that it is necessary to dedicate the coming years to rigorous research and development of such alternative battery technologies with the support of Institutions of Eminence (IoEs), industry, scientists, engineers and the government.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 13840.20, up by 22.65 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 13728.10 and 13966.85. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 6.27%, Sun Pharma up by 3.07%, ICICI Bank up by 2.87%, HDFC Bank up by 2.21% and SBI up by 1.88%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 4.98%, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.46%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.99%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.94% and TCS down by 1.85% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower, Shanghai Composite declined 22.11 points or 0.63% to 3,483.07, Straits Times trembled 24.68 points or 0.85% to 2,895.62, KOSPI fell 92.84 points or 3.03% to 2,976.21, Jakarta Composite lost 117.04 points or 1.96% to 5,862.35, Hang Seng decreased 267.06 points or 0.94% to 28,283.71, Taiwan Weighted dropped 277.57 points or 1.8% to 15,138.31 and Nikkei 225 was down by 534.03 points or 1.89% to 27,663.39.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 72.40 points or 1.11% to 6,453.75, France’s CAC decreased 72.39 points or 1.31% to 5,438.13 and Germany’s DAX was down by 166.04 points or 1.21% to 13,499.89.