Equity markets trim some gains in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets trimmed some of their gains in late afternoon session but continued trade in green territory. Traders were seen piling up positions in Auto, Power and Consumer discretionary sectors while selling was witnessed only in Telecom and FMCG sectors’ stocks. Traders took support after RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Ashima Goyal said that India has the potential to be a centre of vaccine production and will be able to ramp it up soon. Once vaccination reaches a critical mass, the economy will do well with pent up demand, global recovery and easy financial conditions. Some optimism also came, as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data has showed that India Inc's foreign investment in the first month of current fiscal (FY22) jumped by more than two-times year-on-year to $2.51 billion. Indian investors had committed $1.21 billion worth of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in April 2020.

On the global front, all Asian markets were trading higher as investors looked past rising virus infections in the region and bet on the global recovery, with Tokyo brushing off data showing the Japanese economy shrank more than expected in the first quarter. European markets were trading higher as global markets look to break out from the gloomy sentiment seen at the start of the trading week.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 50171.32, up by 590.59 points or 1.19% after trading in a range of 49959.20 and 50313.25. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.68%, while Small cap index was up by 1.17%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 2.97%, Power up by 2.18%, Consumer discretionary up by 2.11%, Capital Goods up by 2.01% and Industrials was up by 2.00%, while Telecom down by 1.33% and FMCG was down by 0.40% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 5.35%, Bajaj Auto up by 4.41%, Bajaj Finance up by 4.12%, Titan Company up by 3.96% and HDFC Bank up by 2.63%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.22%, ITC down by 1.08%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.52%, SBI down by 0.26% and Sun Pharma down by 0.09% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Ashima Goyal is expecting India's economy to do well once vaccination reaches a critical mass as pent up demand, global recovery and easy financial conditions will boost activities.

As India battles a fearsome second COVID wave, she also said that the damage to the economy due to lockdowns is much less and is unlikely to extend beyond the first quarter of the current fiscal. She further noted that India has the potential to be a centre of vaccine production and will be able to ramp it up soon. Once vaccination reaches a critical mass, the economy will do well with pent up demand, global recovery and easy financial conditions.

On the government's ambitious target to make India a USD 5-trillion economy by 2024-25, Goyal said that after such an extended and unforeseen pandemic, it will take longer. Moreover, COVID-19 related uncertainties are not over yet.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15091.90, up by 168.75 points or 1.13% after trading in a range of 15043.70 and 15137.25. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 5.37%, Bajaj Auto up by 4.88%, Bajaj Finance up by 4.06%, Titan Company up by 3.96% and Eicher Motors up by 3.67%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.24%, ITC down by 1.22%, UPL down by 1.04%, Coal India down by 0.81% and Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.50% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 792.09 points or 5.16% to 16,145.98, Nikkei 225 surged 582.01 points or 2.09% to 28,406.84, Hang Seng increased 399.72 points or 1.42% to 28,593.81, Straits Times advanced 59.15 points or 1.92% to 3,138.84, KOSPI rose 38.53 points or 1.23% to 3,173.05, Shanghai Composite gained 11.39 points or 0.32% to 3,529.01 and Jakarta Composite was up by 0.53 points or 0.01% to 5,834.39.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 28.89 points or 0.41% to 7,061.74, France’s CAC increased 21.98 points or 0.35% to 6,389.33 and Germany’s DAX was up by 61.35 points or 0.4% to 15,457.97.