Key indices extend gains in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks extended gains in morning deals tracking gains in index majors ONGC, Larsen & Toubro and Mahindra & Mahindra. Traders took encouragement as India Ratings and Research has revised its outlook on the overall banking sector to stable for the fiscal 2021-2022 (FY22) from negative even as it sees higher stress emerging in the retail loan segment going ahead. For public sector banks (PSBs), the outlook has been revised to stable from negative and for private banks. Some support also came with domestic rating agency Icra stating that the monthly collections, including overdues in its rated retail loan pools originated largely by NBFCs and HFCs, have reached pre-moratorium levels as of December 2020. However, it said for its rated microfinance players, collections are yet to reach the pre-moratorium levels. On the sectoral front, stocks related to real estate sector remained in focus as ICRA in its latest report stated that residential real estate is witnessing a K-shaped recovery on account of accelerated consolidation, where access to credit and demand consolidation has helped large players grow handsomely even as their smaller sized rivals struggle. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as rising commodity prices boosted market expectations of an improved growth outlook, a day after rising U.S. Treasury yields and inflation prospects hit U.S. tech shares.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 50192.21, up by 447.89 points or 0.90% after trading in a range of 49659.85 and 50207.98. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.33%, while Small cap index was up by 0.91%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 3.68%, Oil & Gas up by 2.99%, Capital Goods up by 2.43%, PSU up by 2.28% and Industrials up by 2.04%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 6.87%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.81%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.23%, SBI up by 2.23% and TCS up by 2.02%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 2.39%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.11%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.85%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.70% and Nestle down by 0.20% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, investment through participatory notes (P-notes) in the Indian capital market dipped marginally to Rs 84,976 crore as on January 31 after hitting 31-month high value at the end of the preceding month. At December-end, the investment through such instruments had risen to a 31-month high of Rs 87,132 crore, reflecting the bullish stance of FPIs.

Of the total Rs 84,976 crore invested through the route till January, Rs 77,724 crore was invested in equities, Rs 6,574 crore in debt, and Rs 679 crore in hybrid securities. The investment level fell to an over 15-year-low of Rs 48,006 crore at the end of March amid significant volatility in broader markets on concerns over the coronavirus-triggered crisis.

However, since then, the investments rose for five consecutive months till August-end when it stood at Rs 74,027 crore. In September, it had decreased to Rs 69,821 crore.  P-notes are issued by registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to overseas investors who wish to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly. They are required to go through a due diligence process.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14828.00, up by 152.30 points or 1.04% after trading in a range of 14651.85 and 14830.65. There were 42 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 6.63%, Tata Motors up by 4.79%, BPCL up by 3.76%, GAIL India up by 3.64% and Larsen & Toubro up by 2.80%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 2.18%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.02%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.91%, Shree Cement down by 0.60% and Grasim Industries down by 0.46% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted strengthened 1.63 points or 0.01% to 16,411.79, Jakarta Composite soared 4.67 points or 0.07% to 6,259.98, Straits Times advanced 21.12 points or 0.73% to 2,902.33, KOSPI rose 8.30 points or 0.27% to 3,088.05, Shanghai Composite gained 12.33 points or 0.34% to 3,654.77 and Hang Seng increased 449.37 points or 1.48% to 30,769.20.