Equity markets continue firm trade in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued their firm trade in the late afternoon session on account of buying in front line counters. Larsen & Toubro, Dr. Reddys Lab and Sun Pharma were the prime gainers among heavy-weights. Sentiment got boost after Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) data showed that country’s foreign exchange reserves swelled by USD 3.913 billion to reach USD 588.02 billion in the week ended April 30, 2021. In the previous week ended April 23, the reserves had risen by USD 1.701 billion to USD 584.107 billion. The forex kitty had touched a lifetime high of USD 590.185 billion in the week ended January 29, 2021. Traders overlooked report that Fitch Ratings said the shock to economic activity from the latest wave of COVID-19 pandemic will be less severe than the one in 2020, but recovery is likely to be delayed as economic activity dropped in April-May. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed cheered by a rally on Wall Street as a grim jobs report signaled to investors that interest rates will likely stay low. European markets were trading mostly in red even as reopening of economies and easy monetary policy lifted sectors that typically benefit from a recovery.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49545.51, up by 339.04 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 49412.05 and 49617.47. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.91%, while Small cap index was up by 1.09%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.93%, Healthcare up by 2.70%, Capital Goods up by 2.39%, PSU up by 2.21% and Industrials was up by 1.91%, while IT down by 0.16% and Consumer Durables down by 0.08% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 3.73%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 3.04%, Sun Pharma up by 2.92%, ONGC up by 2.15% and Indusind Bank up by 2.04%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.66%, Infosys down by 0.99%, HCL Tech down by 0.14% and Reliance Industries down by 0.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) in its latest report has showed that the total vehicle registrations in India fell by 29.85 per cent to 1,52,71,519 units in financial year 2020-21, as compared to 2,17,68,502 units in fiscal year 2019-20.

FADA further said that all categories of vehicles, except tractors were in red in FY21 with two-wheeler (2W), three-wheeler (3W), commercial vehicles (CV) and passenger vehicles (PV) falling by 31.51 per cent, 64.12 per cent, 49.05 per cent and 13.96 per cent respectively -- the lowest in last eight years and way below the FY13 levels.

As per the report, passenger vehicles (PV) registrations were at 23,86,316 units last fiscal, as against 27,73,514 units in FY20, down 13.96 per cent, while those of two-wheelers dipped 31.51 per cent to 1,15,33,336 units as compared to 1,68,38,965 units in the previous fiscal. Three-wheeler registrations in FY21 were down 64.12 per cent at 2,58,174 units, as compared to 7,19,594 per cent in FY20, while CV registrations were at 4,48,914 units as against 8,81,114 units, a decline of 49.05 per cent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14959.60, up by 136.45 points or 0.92% after trading in a range of 14892.50 and 14966.90. There were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 5.99%, UPL up by 5.93%, Hindalco up by 4.69%, Divis Lab up by 3.93% and Larsen & Toubro up by 3.93%. On the flip side, Shree Cement down by 1.76%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.49%, Britannia down by 1.41%, Infosys down by 0.97% and Hero MotoCorp down by 0.74% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Nikkei 225 surged 160.52 points or 0.55% to 29,518.34, KOSPI rose 52.10 points or 1.63% to 3,249.30, Jakarta Composite soared 47.48 points or 0.8% to 5,975.79 and Shanghai Composite was up by 9.12 points or 0.27% to 3,427.99. On the flip side, Hang Seng decreased 14.99 points or 0.05% to 28,595.66, Straits Times trembled 19.91 points or 0.62% to 3,180.35 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 49.39 points or 0.29% to 17,235.61.

European markets were trading mostly in red, France’s CAC decreased 12.01 points or 0.19% to 6,373.50 and Germany’s DAX was down by 22.85 points or 0.15% to 15,376.80. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 12.66 points or 0.18% to 7,142.37.