Key gauges remain in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green in morning session, led by gains in index heavyweights Asian Paints, ONGC and Titan Company amid positive global cues and unabated foreign fund inflows. Sentiments remained positive with the European Union stating that its first high-level dialogue on trade with India saw interest by both sides in resuming negotiations for an ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial trade and investment pact once their respective approaches and positions are ‘close enough’. Some support also came with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that the government is taking steps to carefully monitor the fiscal deficit, which is estimated at 9.5 percent of the Gross domestic product (GDP) for the current financial year. She said the 'mool mantra' now is that fiscal deficit is something that one cannot escape, but at the same time, it needs to be carefully tackled.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher amid bets that U.S. President Joe Biden will be able to push through his massive stimulus. Back home, on the sectoral front, pharma stocks remained in focus with Chemical and Fertiliser Minister D V Sadananda Gowda stating that the Indian pharmaceutical industry has proved to be a dependable supplier of quality drugs in a time of global need on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is expected to reach a size of $130 billion by 2030. He added that following the onset of the pandemic, the Indian pharma industry has shown its role as a reliable supplier of drugs and medical devices in a time of need.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 51546.39, up by 197.62 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 51377.70 and 51606.25. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.42%, while Small cap index was up by 0.58%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.56%, Telecom up by 1.32%, Energy up by 1.06%, TECK up by 0.94% and IT up by 0.94%, while Auto down by 0.59% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 2.66%, ONGC up by 2.36%, Titan Company up by 2.17%, Infosys up by 1.32% and Reliance Industries up by 1.26%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.01%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.84%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.70%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.63% and HDFC down by 0.52% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Rating agency Moody's has upgraded the outlook on the power sector to stable from negative, citing the fifth consecutive month of generation growth in January. The Central Electricity Authority last week reported a 3.1 per cent year-on-year growth in power generation in January, making it the fifth consecutive month of generation growth after six months of decline driven by coronavirus pandemic. It stated ‘We have changed the outlook for the power sector to stable from negative, recognising the better prospects for the sector as a result, amid an improved macroeconomic backdrop.’

For the first 10 months of the fiscal 2021, power generation growth declined 2.9 per cent year-on, compared to earlier expectations of a minimum 4-5 per cent decline. But renewable energy generation (excluding hydro power) grew 4.3 per cent during the same period and wind the weakest down 12 per cent.

It mentioned ‘sustaining generation growth indicates stabilization of the operating environment, which was severely impacted by the lockdowns. Our expectations of a rebound real GDP growth to 10.8 per cent in fiscal 2022 further underpins the potential for improving power demand and a more stable picture for the sector.’ It also said it does not expect any further material deterioration in the cash conversion cycle for power companies from current levels, which also supports the outlook.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15194.00, up by 78.20 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 15133.80 and 15197.80. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Life Insurance up by 3.20%, Wipro up by 3.16%, UPL up by 2.87%, Asian Paints up by 2.76% and ONGC up by 2.46%. On the flip side, Indian Oil Corporation down by 4.90%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.02%, Tata Motors down by 1.68%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.97% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.60% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 38.24 points or 0.13% to 29,426.74, Hang Seng increased 113.45 points or 0.39% to 29,432.92, Jakarta Composite soared 15.22 points or 0.25% to 6,224.09, KOSPI rose 9.46 points or 0.31% to 3,100.70, Straits Times advanced 4.87 points or 0.17% to 2,936.27 and Shanghai Composite gained 43.21 points or 1.22% to 3,575.66.