Benchmarks trade higher in late afternoon session

The Indian equity benchmarks added gains in the late afternoon session, with Sensex and Nifty garnering gains of above half a percent each. Broader indices, BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index are also trading above half a percent each. Sentiment got boost after private report states that India's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by 11 percent in 2021-22 (FY22). This is in-line with the government’s own projection for the coming fiscal, as spelt out in the Economic Survey 2020-21. Crisil expects India’s GDP growth to rebound to 11 percent in FY22, after an estimated 8 percent contraction in FY21, as four drivers - people learning to live with the new normal, flattening of the COVID-19 affliction curve, rollout of vaccinations, and investment-focused government spending - converge. Sector wise, automobile sector remained in focus, as automobile dealers' body the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) in its latest report has said that passenger vehicle (PV) retail sales witnessed an increase of 10.59 per cent to 2,54,058 units in February 2021 as against 2,29,734 units in February 2020.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed despite a solid lead from Wall Street overnight. While, Treasury yields stabilized, worries about policy tightening in China kept investors on tenterhooks. European markets were trading mostly in green even after rising inflation.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 51333.01, up by 307.53 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 51048.93 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 gained 0.60%, while Small cap index was up by 0.81%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.92%, TECK up by 1.68%, Consumer Durables up by 1.35%, Capital Goods up by 1.29% and Healthcare was up by 1.05%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.92%, Utilities down by 0.42%, Energy down by 0.33%, PSU down by 0.16% and Power was down by 0.07% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 2.73%, Axis Bank up by 2.42%, Sun Pharma up by 2.21%, HCL Tech up by 2.09% and Infosys up by 1.81%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 2.35%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.56%, ITC down by 0.53%, HDFC Bank down by 0.44% and Power Grid down by 0.28% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, automobile dealers' body the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) in its latest report has said that passenger vehicle (PV) retail sales witnessed an increase of 10.59 per cent to 2,54,058 units in February 2021 as against 2,29,734 units in February 2020.

As per the report, two-wheeler sales however declined 16.08 per cent to 10,91,288 units last month, as compared to 13,00,364 units in February 2020. Commercial vehicle sales also slipped 29.53 per cent to 59,020 units, as against 83,751 units a year ago.

The FADA further noted that three-wheeler sales fell 49.65 per cent to 33,319 units last month, from 66,177 units in the year-ago period. Tractor sales, however, grew by 18.89 per cent to 61,351 units last month, against 51,602 units in the same month last year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15180.60, up by 82.20 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 15100.85 and 15218.45. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 3.06%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.77%, Axis Bank up by 2.48%, Tata Motors up by 2.46% and Wipro up by 2.35%. On the flip side, SBI Life down by 2.25%, ONGC down by 2.23%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.44%, Indian Oil down by 1.44% and Coal India down by 1.02% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Hang Seng increased 134.29 points or 0.47% to 28,907.52, Jakarta Composite soared 65.03 points or 1.05% to 6,264.68, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 58.58 points or 0.37% to 15,911.67and Nikkei 225 was up by 8.62 points or 0.03% to 29,036.56. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 1.55 points or 0.05% to 3,357.74, KOSPI fell 18.00 points or 0.6% to 2,958.12 and Straits Times was down by 29.64 points or 0.95% to 3,078.89.

European markets were trading mostly in green, France’s CAC increased 9.53 points or 0.16% to 5,934.50 and Germany’s DAX was up by 12.16 points or 0.08% to 14,450.10. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 35.99 points or 0.53% to 6,694.35.