Equity markets extend upward momentum in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets extended their upward momentum in the late afternoon session, following gains in Metal, Basic Bankex and Basic Materials stocks amid positive global sentiment. Traders remain energized, as 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. Traders paid no heed to India’s exports marginally declined 0.25 per cent to USD 27.67 billion in February while imports grew by 6.98 per cent to USD 40.55 billion during the month.The exports during April-February 2020-21 period stood at USD 255.92 billion. In the same period a year ago, it was at USD 291.87 billion, showing a negative growth of 12.32 per cent. Sector wise, telecom sector remained in focus, 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, all Asian markets were trading higher despite the lackluster cues overnight from Wall Street. The markets continue to be optimism about higher fiscal stimulus and the global economic recovery as U.S. bond yields moved lower for the third straight session and lower crude oil prices. European markets were trading higher with investors in the U.K. keen to see what taxation and spending plans the British government reveals in the annual budget statement.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 51054.14, up by 757.25 points or 1.51% after trading in a range of 50512.84 and 51156.27. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.20%, while Small cap index was up by 1.50%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.50%, Bankex up by 2.65%, Basic Materials up by 2.15%, Utilities up by 1.64% and IT was up by 1.53%, while Auto down by 0.63% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 4.05%, Axis Bank up by 3.63%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.34%, SBI up by 3.22% and ICICI Bank up by 2.96%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 1.46%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.35%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.04%, ITC down by 0.29% and NTPC down by 0.18% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the growth of India’s service sector expanded at the fastest rate in the month of February, owing to a quicker increase in new orders. Moreover, the roll-out of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines led to an improvement in business confidence towards growth prospects.

As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei Services Business Activity Index surged to 55.3 in February from 52.8 in January. Further, the Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services - also jumped to 57.3 in February from 55.8 in January.

Despite ongoing growth of total new business, service sector employment fell further during February. A number of companies suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic restricted labour supply. The pace of job shedding accelerated from January, but was moderate overall.

On the price front, overall input costs increased in February, amid reports of higher freight, fuel and retail prices. Furthermore, the rate of inflation accelerated to the strongest since February 2013. However, competitive pressures prevented companies from lifting their own fees.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15144.40, up by 225.30 points or 1.51% after trading in a range of 14995.80 and 15172.25. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 6.23%, JSW Steel up by 4.33%, Bajaj Finserv up by 4.01%, Axis Bank up by 3.69% and Hindalco up by 3.58%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.91%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.37%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.37%, BPCL down by 1.11% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.07% were the top losers.All Asian markets were trading higher, Hang Seng increased 784.56 points or 2.7% to 29,880.42, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 264.85 points or 1.66% to 16,211.73, Nikkei 225 surged 150.93 points or 0.51% to 29,559.10, Shanghai Composite gained 68.31 points or 1.95% to 3,576.90, KOSPI rose 39.12 points or 1.29% to 3,082.99, Straits Times advanced 21.56 points or 0.72% to 2,995.43 and Jakarta Composite was up by 17.55 points or 0.28% to 6,376.76.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 69.88 points or 1.06% to 6,683.63, France’s CAC increased 41.96 points or 0.72% to 5,851.69 and Germany’s DAX was up by 119.95 points or 0.85% to 14,159.75.