Markets continue to trade in high spirit

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in high spirit in afternoon session as daily caseload in the second wave of COVID-19 continued to be below 3 lakh, which offered comfort and may result in lifting of ongoing state-level lockdowns sooner. Sentiment also perked up with report that the International Monetary Fund stands ready to strengthen its dialogue and scale-up its technical collaboration with India, observing that the human tragedy is a stark reminder that the pandemic continues to be a grave threat globally. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors battled to track a rally on Wall Street that came in response to another positive read on US jobless claims, while sentiment continues to be driven by inflation fears and optimism over the economic recovery.

Back home, on the sectoral front, banking stocking stock were in buzz as the Supreme Court upheld Indian government notification to invoke personal guarantees of the promoters whose companies defaulted to bank loans. Verdict allows lenders to seek recovery of dues from guarantors of loans even while bankruptcy processes against the companies are pending.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 50244.12, up by 679.26 points or 1.37% after trading in a range of 49832.72 and 50320.46. 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 0.88%, while Small cap index was up by 0.89%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 2.22%, Telecom up by 1.42%, Realty up by 1.42%, Power up by 1.12% and Utilities was up by 1.06%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 3.48%, HDFC Bank up by 2.86%, ICICI Bank up by 2.38%, HDFC up by 2.20% and SBI was up by 1.96%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 0.90% and Dr. Reddys Lab was down by 0.22% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, net new enrolments with retirement fund body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) declined marginally to 11.22 lakh in March from 11.28 lakh in February this year. Of the 11.22 lakh net subscribers added during the month of March, around 7.16 lakh new members came under the social security ambit of EPFO for the first time. The data provides a perspective on formal sector employment amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to payroll data, during 2020-21, the EPFO added 77.08 lakh new members. In the year-ago period, it was at 78.58 lakh. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, cumulative net payroll addition for FY21 is almost at par with last year, with 77.08 lakh net additions to the subscribers' base.

Quarterly analysis of payroll for the 2020-21 indicates that net subscribers' addition improved consistently from the second quarter after taking a hit in the first quarter due to the crisis in the wake of the pandemic. According to the statement, maximum improvement of 33.64 lakh net subscribers was observed during the Q4 FY21, a growth of 37.44 percent compared to the Q3 FY20).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15103.00, up by 196.95 points or 1.32% after trading in a range of 14985.85 and 15118.85. There were 45 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 3.51%, HDFC Bank up by 3.01%, ICICI Bank up by 2.51%, HDFC up by 2.20% and SBI was up by 1.92%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 0.96%, Grasim Industries down by 0.38%, Indian Oil Corporation down by 0.29%, Eicher Motors down by 0.24% and Dr. Reddys Lab was down by 0.23% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; KOSPI fell 5.86 points or 0.19% to 3,156.42, Hang Seng decreased 21.58 points or 0.08% to 28,428.71, Shanghai Composite declined 18.31 points or 0.52% to 3,488.63 and Jakarta Composite was down by 32.55 points or 0.56% to 5,765.05.

On the other hand, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 259.70 points or 1.62% to 16,302.06, Nikkei 225 surged 219.58 points or 0.78% to 28,317.83 and Straits Times was up by 3.72 points or 0.12% to 3,113.53.