Key gauges trim gains in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks were off day's high but continued trading in green in morning deals, ahead of the weekly options expiry. Sentiments remained positive with Crisil in its report stated that the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme that seeks to push domestic manufacturing in as many as 14 sectors has the potential to generate additional revenue worth Rs 35-40 lakh crore over the next five years. Some support also came with private report stated that India's economy should come roaring back to life in 2021 after a recession induced by COVID-19 and allow the country to reclaim its status as the fastest-growing major economy if the OECD projection of 12.6 per cent expansion in GDP is realised. The sentiment was also aided by gains in broader Asian markets. Separately, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur has said that banks have sanctioned loans worth Rs 2.46 lakh crore to about 92 lakh accounts under the Rs 3-lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme for the MSME sector.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher after bond yields eased following a well-received auction and as Chinese shares found a footing after recent steep falls on policy tightening worries. Back home, on the sectoral front, Auto stocks were in focus with data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) showing that retail sales of passenger vehicles rose by 10.59 per cent in February 2021 to 2,54,058 units from 2,29,734 units in the year ago period, while two-wheeler sales dropped by 16.08 per cent to 10,91,288 units from 13,00,364 units in the corresponding period last year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 51217.86, up by 192.38 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 51196.56 and 51430.43. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.58%, while Small cap index up by 0.66%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.31%, Realty up by 1.27%, Auto up by 1.17%, IT up by 1.10%, TECK up by 0.95%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.34%, Energy down by 0.24%, Utilities down by 0.12% and Power down by 0.08% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 1.79%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.61%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.39%, Titan Co up by 1.35% and Sun Pharma Industries up by 1.22%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 1.97%, Nestle down by 0.60%, ITC down by 0.60%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.35% and HDFC Bank down by 0.23% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its interim economic outlook has raised the projection for India’s economic growth rate by 4.7 percentage points at 12.6 per cent for 2021-22. That would enable India to retain its earlier tag of the fastest growing large economy in the world. OECD said activity moved above pre-pandemic levels in India, helped by strong fiscal and quasi-fiscal measures and a recovery in manufacturing and construction.

However, it pegged economic growth rate to come down to 5.4 per cent in 2022-23, which would be higher by 0.6 percentage points than its earlier estimates. According to the OECD, that year, India would share its fastest-growing large economy tag with Indonesia. The Indian economy was projected to decline by 8 per cent in the current fiscal year. However, OECD believes that contraction would be less steep at 7.4 per cent.

In the report, titled Strengthening the recovery: The need for speed, OECD said fiscal measures announced in India and a few other countries would help growth in 2021-22 as well. Additional discretionary fiscal measures announced in several countries during the past three months will add to the overall support, including in the US, Japan, Germany, Canada, and India. The report also unveiled major upgrades to its global outlook, saying that economic prospects have improved markedly in recent months thanks to the deployment of coronavirus vaccines and additional stimulus announcements.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15152.00, up by 53.60 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 15148.05 and 15218.45. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 3.20%, Tata Motors up by 2.86%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.85%, JSW Steel up by 1.84% and Indusind Bank up by 1.49%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 1.97%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.84%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.58%, UPL down by 1.26% and Coal India down by 0.89% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; Hang Seng increased 130.77 points or 0.45% to 28,904.00, Jakarta Composite soared 57.76 points or 0.93% to 6,257.41, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 48.83 points or 0.31% to 15,901.92 and Shanghai Composite gained 22.55 points or 0.67% to 3,381.84.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 slipped 16.73 points or 0.06% to 29,011.21, KOSPI fell 17.73 points or 0.6% to 2,958.39 and Straits Times trembled 29.03 points or 0.93% to 3,079.50.