Indices maintain gaining momentum in late morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks maintained their gaining momentum in late morning deals, with both Sensex and Nifty holding strong gains. Positive cues from other Asian markets helped key indices to remain strong with sharp gains. Domestic sentiments were positive, as amid uncertainty created by a surge in coronavirus cases, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to maintain the status quo at its next monetary policy review and wait for some more time before taking any action to spur growth. The RBI is slated to announce its first bi-monthly monetary policy of 2021-22 fiscal on April 7, 2021, after a three-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, even after the total value of retail sales in Japan was down 1.5 percent on year in February, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Tuesday - coming in at 11.628 trillion yen. That beat forecasts for a decline of 2.8 percent following the 2.4 percent drop in the previous month. On a monthly basis, retail sales jumped 1.4 percent after dropping 1.7 percent in January.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49884.98, up by 876.48 points or 1.79% after trading in a range of 49331.68 and 49917.80. There were 28 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.94%, while Small cap index was up by 0.77%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.64%, Utilities up by 2.26%, Basic Materials up by 2.08%, Consumer Durables up by 2.03% and Healthcare up by 1.90%, while Realty down by 0.76% was the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 3.46%, Power Grid up by 3.42%, ONGC up by 3.42%, Hindustan Unilever up by 3.39% and Titan Co up by 3.18%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.37% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.42% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, asserting that the disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore for 2021-22 was ‘eminently achievable,’ Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) K. V. Subramanian has said the proposed initial public offering (IPO) by LIC itself could garner Rs 1 lakh crore for the government. He also said targeting of retail inflation by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has helped bring down the volatility and level of inflation.

The CEA said the disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore for FY22 is actually a carryover of the Rs 2.10 lakh crore target set for the current fiscal ending March 31. Of this, BPCL privatisation and LIC listing itself were important contributors. There are estimates suggesting Rs 75,000- Rs 80,000 crore or even higher can just come from the privatisation of BPCL. LIC IPO could bring in Rs 1 lakh crore approximately. With regard to LIC’s IPO, the Centre has already had amendments in the LIC Act passed through Finance Bill 2021 in Parliament.

He said ‘These are numbers (disinvestment) which are imminently achievable because the work had begun on many of these and they will be completed in FY22’.  Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on privatisation, he said these are signature changes that are happening. Subramanian also emphasised that India needed a lot more banks for meeting its growth potential. He cited the example of the US which, with one-third the India’s population, has about 25,000-30,000 banks.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14772.40, up by 265.10 points or 1.83% after trading in a range of 14617.60 and 14783.00. There were 45 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were UPL up by 5.55%, Tata Steel up by 4.36%, JSW Steel up by 4.35%, Shree Cement up by 3.90% and Eicher Motors up by 3.45%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.12%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.46%, Tata Motors down by 0.24%, SBI Life Insurance down by 0.18% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.06% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 334.46 points or 1.18% to 28,672.76, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 41.59 points or 0.25% to 16,517.56, KOSPI rose 33.38 points or 1.1% to 3,069.42, Straits Times advanced 22.01 points or 0.69% to 3,197.58 and Shanghai Composite gained 20.14 points or 0.59% to 3,455.44. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 slipped 11.42 points or 0.04% to 29,373.10 and Jakarta Composite lost 69.68 points or 1.13% to 6,097.14.