Benchmarks extend gains in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks extended their early gains to continue firm trade in morning session, hovering near intra-day high level, led by gains in Metal, Basic Materials and Banking sectors amid positive sentiment in the global markets. Sentiments were lifted by Former Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya’s statement that India's economy is on an 'upswing' and the government's plans for increased spending comes in the backdrop of pro-growth reforms. However, he said that it might take longer to become a $5 trillion economy due to the coronavirus pandemic-induced disruptions. Sentiments also got a boost as RBI governor Shaktikanta Das expressed optimism about the overall COVID-19 situation following the rollout of the vaccines and complimented all the SAARC central banks for their efforts in combating the pandemic. On the sectoral front, telecom stocks were in limelight as India's first auction of telecom spectrum in five years ended with Rs 77,814.80 crore of airwaves being acquired, mostly by Reliance Jio which picked up 488.35 MHz of spectrum for Rs 57,122.65 crore. Bharti Airtel acquired 355.45 MHz at Rs 18,698.75 crore, and Vodafone Idea with 11.80 MHz for Rs 1,993.40 crore.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher as investors shrugged off concerns that stocks may have rallied too far too fast in the past year, and focused instead on optimism that more imminent U.S. stimulus will energise the global economic recovery. Separately, the latest survey from au Jibun Bank revealed the services sector in Japan continued to contract in February, albeit at a slower pace, with a services PMI score of 46.3. That's up from 46.1 in January, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 50815.12, up by 518.23 points or 1.03% after trading in a range of 50512.84 and 50820.02. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.14%, while Small cap index was up by 1.40%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.11%, Basic Materials up by 1.99%, Bankex up by 1.60%, Realty up by 1.54% and Telecom up by 1.52%, while Auto down by 0.46% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 2.94%, HDFC up by 2.50%, Axis Bank up by 2.36%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.12% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.96%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 1.94%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.46%, Asian Paints down by 0.29%, NTPC down by 0.22% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.19% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Former Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya has said India's economy is on an 'upswing' and the government's plans for increased spending comes in the backdrop of pro-growth reforms. However, he said that it might take longer to become a $5 trillion economy due to the coronavirus pandemic-induced disruptions.

He said the country's GDP growth in October-December 2020 quarter returned to a hair's breadth above its level a year ago. He mentioned 'At 0.4 per cent, the year-on-year growth in GDP may seem low but given the large negative growth during the preceding two quarters ((-) 24.4 per cent during April-June and (-) 7.3 per cent during July-Sept, the quarter-on-quarter growth momentum is very strong'.

He stated there are signs that the government is clearing past arrears at an accelerated pace and has also provided for doubling of government expenditure in the current quarter over the same quarter last year. He pointed out ‘These facts would help boost demand and give further impetus to growth at a time when the economy is on the upswing... So the news on the growth front is very encouraging.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15074.95, up by 155.85 points or 1.04% after trading in a range of 14995.80 and 15080.75. There were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 5.13%, JSW Steel up by 3.51%, SBI up by 3.06%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 2.86% and HDFC up by 2.75%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.10%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.92%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.40%, BPCL down by 0.70% and Eicher Motors down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading higher; Taiwan Weighted strengthened 181.14 points or 1.14% to 16,128.02, KOSPI rose 22.91 points or 0.75% to 3,066.78, Straits Times advanced 15.85 points or 0.53% to 2,989.72, Jakarta Composite soared 11.43 points or 0.18% to 6,370.64, Shanghai Composite gained 46.69 points or 1.33% to 3,555.28, Hang Seng increased 491.88 points or 1.69% to 29,587.74 and Nikkei 225 surged 125.66 points or 0.43% to 29,533.83.