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 300 and 80 points, respectively. The broader indices, BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index are trading above a percent. Traders remain energized after Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash informed the Lok Sabha that in the last six financial years (2014-20), India has received FDI inflow worth USD 358.30 billion which is 53 per cent of the FDI reported in the last 20 years (USD 681.87 billion). Jewellery stocks remained in focus, as credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has said that government’s proposal to reduce the customs duty on gold and silver to 7.5% from 12.5% will make the illegal trade of gold imports less attractive and curtail the increasing trend of gold smuggling in India. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as investors booked profits after recent strong gains on earnings optimism and amid firm signs of economic recovery. European markets were trading higher, as investors awaited a monetary policy decision from the Bank of England.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 50629.61, up by 373.86 points or 0.74% after trading in a range of 49926.45 and 50629.66. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.30%, while Small cap index was up by 1.27%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 2.87%, Metal up by 2.35%, FMCG up by 2.12%, PSU up by 2.09% and Capital Goods was up by 2.02%, while Telecom down by 0.55%, Consumer Durables down by 0.01% and TECK was down by 0.01% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 5.63%, ONGC up by 4.61%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 4.32%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.95% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 3.12%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.19%, Asian Paints down by 1.81%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.49%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.37% and Titan Company down by 0.90% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over measures announced in union budget 2021, credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has said that government’s proposal to reduce the customs duty on gold and silver to 7.5% from 12.5% will make the illegal trade of gold imports less attractive and curtail the increasing trend of gold smuggling in India.As per the report, the move will also improve the government’s overall revenue from the sector. The duty reduction will support sectoral demand in the long term, as jewellery costs will come down and customers’ purchasing power will improve.

Ind-Ra also noted that along with the reduction in import duty on gold/silver, the government announced an increase in the custom duty from 7.5% to 15% on imported cut and polished cubic zirconia and synthetic cut and polished stone. This could aid local manufacturing of these items by making jewellery manufacturing more competitive.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14887.65, up by 97.70 points or 0.66% after trading in a range of 14714.75 and 14907.95. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 5.61%, Coal India up by 4.81%, Shree Cement up by 4.44%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 4.42% and ONGC up by 4.39%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.09%, Asian Paints down by 1.82%, UPL down by 1.68%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.47% and Cipla down by 1.20% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Nikkei 225 slipped 304.55 points or 1.06% to 28,341.95, Hang Seng decreased 193.96 points or 0.66% to 29,113.50, Taiwan Weighted dropped 65.10 points or 0.41% to 15,706.22, KOSPI fell 42.13 points or 1.35% to 3,087.55, Straits Times trembled 25.95 points or 0.89% to 2,901.52 and Shanghai Composite was down by 15.45 points or 0.44% to 3,501.86. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was up by 29.47 points or 0.48% to 6,107.22.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 43.06 points or 0.66% to 6,550.88, France’s CAC increased 31.61 points or 0.57% to 5,594.66 and Germany’s DAX was up by 81.38 points or 0.58% to 14,015.01.