Indices trim some gains in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks came off day’s high but continued to trade in green in morning deals, amid firm global cues. Sentiments remained positive as former chief of Shanghai-based New Development Bank, K V Kamath expressed optimism that India's sovereign rating would go up on the back of efforts being taken by the government to push economic reforms. However, gains remain capped as some concern came with a joined survey carried out by FICCI-IBA has stated that asset quality of banks, which saw some improvement in the second half of 2020, is likely to worsen during the first six months of 2021. The survey was conducted on 20 banks, including public sector, private sector and foreign banks, representing about 59 per cent of the banking industry, as classified by asset size. Separately, commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called upon all investors to stick to the spirit and ambit of laws and not try to find loopholes in the policies, while inviting them to take advantage of the 'demand, democracy and demographic dividend' in India.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher after the US Federal Reserve committed to maintaining accommodative monetary policy and projected a rapid jump in US economic growth this year as Covid-19 crisis eases. On the sectoral front, chemical industry’s stocks remained in focus as the government said the Indian chemical industry has an opportunity to attract investment of about Rs 10 lakh crore by 2025 as the country offers a location advantage. It also said opportunities exist in the entire value chain and across the sector. There are opportunities for investment in PVC, methanol value chain, among others.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 50019.72, up by 218.10 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 50009.39 and 50296.35. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.06%, while Small cap index was up by 0.04%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.49%, Metal up by 1.03%, Bankex up by 0.84%, FMCG up by 0.69% and PSU up by 0.67%, while IT down by 0.78%, Healthcare down by 0.76%, TECK down by 0.54%, Energy down by 0.08% and Realty down by 0.02% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 2.08%, ITC up by 2.04%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.66%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.64% and SBI up by 1.51%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 1.88%, Infosys down by 1.66%, Sun Pharma down by 0.67%, HCL Technologies down by 0.24% and Reliance Industries down by 0.22% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce in its report has recommended the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) for taking necessary steps for disposal of 205 pending FDI proposals by the respective ministries. It also suggested that the DPIIT should build up on the positive trend gained in the last five years and continue to make India an attractive destination for investment.

It said that since the abolition of FIPB (foreign investment promotion board), 471 out of 676 proposals (including 99 proposals transferred from FIPB) have been disposed off as on February 15, 2021. It recommended the department to take concerted steps to address the critical issues and concerns faced by potential foreign investors and provide a seamless process for investing in India.

Besides, regarding intellectual property, it said the committee has suggested the department fill the vacancy at all levels in the patent office at the earliest. On the fund of fund scheme (FFS) for startups, it expressed concerns over the low number of startups benefitting under FFS as lack of adequate funding may adversely impact the functioning and commercial viability of startups.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14776.15, up by 54.85 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 14774.00 and 14875.20. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 3.45%, ITC up by 2.11%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.95%, Adani Ports &Special up by 1.63% and Tata Motors up by 1.54%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 1.97%, Divis Lab down by 1.66%, Infosys down by 1.58%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.93% and Wipro down by 0.69% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading higher; Hang Seng increased 438.38 points or 1.51% to 29,472.50, Nikkei 225 surged 278.33 points or 0.93% to 30,192.66, Straits Times advanced 35.35 points or 1.14% to 3,145.00, KOSPI rose 23.81 points or 0.78% to 3,071.31, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 82.09 points or 0.51% to 16,297.91, Shanghai Composite gained 18.78 points or 0.55% to 3,464.33 and Jakarta Composite soared 57.72 points or 0.92% to 6,334.95.