Markets trim some gains in late afternoon session

The Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some of their gains in late afternoon session, but continued to show a positive trend. Sentiments remained upbeat even after Reserve Bank of India retained the economic growth projection for the current financial year at 10.5 per cent, while cautioning that the recent surge in COVID-19 infections has created uncertainty over the economic growth recovery. The projection of real GDP growth for 2021-22 is retained at 10.5 per cent consisting of 26.2 per cent in Q1, 8.3 per cent in Q2, 5.4 per cent in Q3 and 6.2 per cent in Q4. On the sectoral front, Cement sector remained in focus, as rating agency Icra has said domestic cement demand is expected to be highest in the decade, estimated to surpass 340 million tonne in FY2022, driven by sustained rural housing demand and significant pick-up in infrastructure activity. On the supply side, the capacity addition is also expected to increase by 22-25 million tonne in FY2022.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors took a breather following a recent run-up, though another round of healthy data provided cause for continued optimism over the global recovery. European markets were trading higher with shares of Royal Dutch Shell climbing after a trading update, and banks also higher. U.S. stock futures were slightly higher.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49694.31, up by 492.92 points or 1.00% after trading in a range of 49093.90 and 49900.13. There were 28 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.75%, while Small cap index was up by 1.11%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.63%, Bankex up by 1.57%, PSU up by 1.45%, Auto up by 1.36% and TECK was up by 1.16%, while there were no losers on sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 2.47%, Power Grid up by 2.34%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.11%, ICICI Bank up by 2.01% and Nestle up by 1.93%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 0.65% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.50% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the growth of India’s service sector eased in the month of March but it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction, on the back of increases in new business and output at Indian services firms, as companies benefited from strong demand conditions and the elections.

As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei Services Business Activity Index fell to 54.6 in March from 55.3 in February. Further, the Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services - also eased to 56.0 in March from 57.3 in February. The report further said that new orders rose in March, stretching the current sequence of expansion to six months. Although easing from February, the pace of increase was solid and surpassed the long-run series average. The upturn was associated with the elections, higher demand and successful marketing.

Services companies reported higher expenses in March. The rate of input cost inflation was sharp and outpaced its long-run average, despite slowing from February's eight-year high. A few firms lifted their selling prices amid efforts to protect margins given ongoing increases in input costs. At the same time, the vast majority of companies left their fees unchanged due to competitive pressures. As a result, there was only a fractional rise in average output charges.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14836.10, up by 152.60 points or 1.04% after trading in a range of 14649.85 and 14879.80. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 3.33%, SBI up by 2.47%, Power Grid up by 2.41%, SBI Life up by 2.34% and Bajaj Finance up by 2.05%. On the flip side, Tata Consumer down by 1.42%, Adani Ports down by 1.02%, Titan Company down by 0.65%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.55% and UPL down by 0.38% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 75.49 points or 0.45% to 16,815.36, Nikkei 225 surged 34.16 points or 0.12% to 29,730.79, Jakarta Composite soared 33.85 points or 0.56% to 6,036.62 and KOSPI was up by 10.33 points or 0.33% to 3,137.41. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 3.34 points or 0.1% to 3,479.63, Straits Times trembled 13.67 points or 0.43% to 3,193.96 and Hang Seng was down by 263.94 points or 0.91% to 28,674.80.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 53.58 points or 0.79% to 6,877.13, France’s CAC increased 15.26 points or 0.25% to 6,146.60 and Germany’s DAX was up by 10.67 points or 0.07% to 15,223.35.