Sensex, Nifty remain higher in late morning session

Indian equity benchmarks cut some of their gains during late morning session but remained higher, with both Sensex and Nifty holding notable gains. Positive cues from other Asian markets helped key indices to maintain their trade in green terrain. Domestic sentiments were positive, as February Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data showed further improvement in the health of Indian manufacturing sector as firms responded to increases in new work intakes by lifting production, input buying and stocks of purchases. Posting 57.5 in February, the seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing PMI highlighted a strong improvement in operating conditions that was broadly similar to that recorded in January (57.7).

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green, after the manufacturing sector in China continued to expand in February, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Caixin showed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.9. That's down from 51.5 in January, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Individually, output expanded modestly amid a softer rise in new work as the pandemic weighed on export sales and supplier performance.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49680.39, up by 580.40 points or 1.18% after trading in a range of 49485.00 and 50058.42. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.03%, while Small cap index was up by 1.36%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 2.21%, Auto up by 2.04%, Metal up by 2.01%, Basic Materials up by 1.99% and Consumer Durables up by 1.86%, while Telecom down by 2.71% was the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 4.81%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 4.81%, Power Grid up by 3.79%, Titan Company up by 3.46% and Tech Mahindra up by 2.76%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 4.27%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.20% and Reliance Industries down by 0.07% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, as part of its effort to boost farm exports and enhance farmers income, the government has finalised a list of products from agriculture and allied sectors that will be promoted in a cluster approach in 728 districts across the country. The agriculture ministry, in consultation with food processing industries ministry, has finalised the products for ‘One District One Focus Product’ (ODOFP). Inputs from the States/UTs and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have also been taken to prepare the list. The products have been identified from agricultural, horticultural, animal, poultry, milk, fisheries and aquaculture, marine sectors for 728 districts across the country.

The agriculture ministry said that these products will be promoted in a cluster approach through convergence of the central schemes, aiming to increase the value of the products and enhance farmers’ income. Paddy will be promoted in 40 districts, wheat-5 districts, coarse cum nutri cereals- 25 districts, pulses 16 districts, commercial crops 22 districts, oilseeds 41 districts, vegetables 107 districts, spices 105 districts, plantation 28 districts, fruits 226 districts, floriculture 2 districts, honey 9 districts, animal husbandry/dairy 40 districts, aquaculture/marine fisheries 29 districts and processed products 33 districts. These identified products will be supported under the food processing ministry’s PM-FME scheme, which provides incentives to promoter and micro-enterprises. Many products include convergence of resources and approach from the other departments.

The agriculture ministry will support ODOFP from its ongoing centrally sponsored schemes such as National Food Security Mission. The list includes 25 districts of Arunachal Pradesh; 38 districts of Bihar; 28 districts of Chhattisgarh; 2 districts in Goa; 22 districts of Haryana; 12 districts of Himachal Pradesh, 24 districts of Jharkhand, 20 districts of Jammu & Kashmir; 31 districts of Karnataka; 14 districts of Kerala; 52 districts of Madhya Pradesh; 36 districts of Maharashtra; 16 districts of Manipur; 30 districts of Odisha, 23 districts of Punjab, 4 districts of Sikkim, 36 districts of Tamil Nadu; 8 districts of Tripura, 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh, and 18 districts of West Bengal.

As many as 13 districts each of Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh, 11 districts each of Delhi, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland; and 33 districts each of Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Telangana have been included. That apart, three districts of Andaman & Nicobar Islands; total three districts of ‘Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu’; two districts each of Ladakh and Puducherry; one district each of Chandigarh and Lakshadweep are part of this exercise.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14694.20, up by 165.05 points or 1.14% after trading in a range of 14638.85 and 14806.80. There were 45 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 4.99%, ONGC up by 4.82%, UPL up by 4.04%, Power Grid up by 3.94% and Titan Company up by 3.61%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 4.21%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.12%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.85%, Reliance Industries down by 0.35% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.23% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 610.58 points or 2.11% to 29,576.59, Hang Seng increased 348.17 points or 1.2% to 29,328.38, Jakarta Composite soared 68.04 points or 1.09% to 6,309.84, Straits Times advanced 26.07 points or 0.88% to 2,975.11 and Shanghai Composite gained 18.22 points or 0.52% to 3,527.30.