Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green terrain in morning deals led by gains mainly in Energy, Oil & Gas and Telecom stocks. Sentiments remained positive with Engineering Export Promotion Council of India stating the country's engineering exports have increased by 18.69 per cent in January this year and demand for such products in the international markets is expected to be steady in the remaining two months of the current fiscal. Some support also came with private report stated that the job market continues to improve sequentially across the country and job postings in some industries have improved, with some doing even better than the pre-Covid levels, led by IT, agro-based sectors. However, gains remain capped as some anxiety came with Fitch Ratings’ statement that India's high fiscal deficit would pose a challenge in lowering the debt to GDP ratio, which is expected to rise above 90 percent in the next five years. It said the country entered the coronavirus disease (covid-19) pandemic with little fiscal headroom from a rating perspective. Its general government debt/GDP ratio stood at 72 percent in 2019, against a median of 42 percent for 'BBB' rated peers.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as investors digested recent meaty gains, while bulls were sustained by the promise of endless free money after a benign reading on U.S. inflation and a dovish Federal Reserve outlook. Adding to the torpor was a lack of liquidity as markets in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan were all on holiday. Back home, on the sectoral front, Cement industry stocks remained in focus as CARE Ratings in a report said outlook for the cement industry in FY22 seems sanguine due to the government's thrust towards infrastructure creation and development and it being the propeller of growth in the economy going forward.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 51467.72, up by 158.33 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 51157.31 and 51519.91. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.46%, while Small cap index was up by 0.91%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.98%, Oil & Gas up by 1.31%, Telecom up by 1.30%, Utilities up by 0.86% and Basic Materials up by 0.63%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.68%, Auto down by 0.46%, Healthcare down by 0.14%, Consumer discretionary down by 0.14% and IT down by 0.10% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 2.43%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.32%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.07%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.05% and Axis Bank up by 0.78%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 2.98%, NTPC down by 2.66%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.03%, HDFC down by 0.93% and Infosys down by 0.40% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, Industry body the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has said steps taken by the government is helping the country's exports to record positive growth and the trend is expected to continue. Sanjay Budhia, Chairman, CII National Committee on EXIM, said that uncertainties in the global markets are trending down as countries move out of lockdowns and vaccine rollout gains pace.
He said India's exports are seeing a pick-up in January 2021 over the previous year and this is likely to continue. Exports in January this year are estimated to be 5.37 per cent higher than in the same month in 2020. He added the global recovery programmes have led to increased demand for goods and the rise in global commodity prices is indicative of the return of growth forces.
Further, he said that issues such as delays at ports, movement restrictions on domestic freight, and other trade matters continued to be relentlessly taken up during the pandemic. He noted these steps ensured smoother movement of outward-bound cargo and helped faster return to normal activities.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15152.20, up by 45.70 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 15065.40 and 15167.70. There were 28 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 3.61%, GAIL India up by 2.92%, Reliance Industries up by 2.52%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.30% and Adani Ports &SEZ up by 1.22%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 3.93%, Titan Company down by 2.95%, NTPC down by 2.70%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.98% and Shree Cement down by 0.85% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 134.85 points or 0.45% to 30,173.57 and Jakarta Composite soared 8.05 points or 0.13% to 6,209.88. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 0.36 points or 0.01% to 2,925.48.
