Benchmarks trade higher amid fall in Covid-19 cases; all eyes on GST Council meet

Indian equity benchmarks made optimistic start on Friday tracking positive cues from Asian peers. Markets are trading higher in early deals with notable gains of around 0.60% each aided by buying in almost all the sector indices except healthcare. Fall in coronavirus cases also supported the indices. India recorded 179,770 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the lowest daily count in 44 days, as infections continued to decrease in the country. Investors are eyeing the goods and services tax (GST) Council meet today after a span of seven months. As per a report, the Council is expected to discuss the compensation shortfall, which is estimated at Rs 1.6 lakh crore for the current fiscal, and is likely to be funded by borrowings this year as well. Some support came in with a private report that the government is hopeful of a speedy launch of single-dose COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik Light in India and all stakeholders, including the Russian manufacturer and its Indian partners, have been directed to fast-track the application and regulatory approval procedures for the jab to boost the country's vaccination drive.

On the global front, most of the Asian markets were trading higher as traders were optimistic about a global economic recovery from the pandemic after a drop in US initial jobless claims to a new pandemic-era low. Traders also keenly await key US inflation data later in the day that could have a significant impact on the outlook for monetary policy. Meanwhile, the US markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.

Back home, banking stocks were in focus as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked banks to closely monitor their bad loans and prepare themselves for higher provisioning in the wake of second COVID wave and the Supreme Court order lifting the ban on classification of non-performing assets. Also, RBI data showed financial frauds reported by banks decreased by 15 percent in numbers and by 25 percent in total value terms compared to the previous financial year. In scrip specific development, Eicher Motors gained as it Q4FY21 net profit rose 72.9 percent to Rs 526.1 crore from Rs 304.3 crore, while revenue increased 33.2 percent to Rs 2,940.3 crore from Rs 2,208.2 crore, YoY.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 51426.29, up by 311.07 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 51298.89 and 51477.05. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.49%, while Small cap index was up by 0.54%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.53%, Energy up by 1.62%, Oil & Gas up by 1.57%, Basic Materials up by 1.01%, Telecom up by 1.00%, while Healthcare down by 0.46% was the sole losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 2.64%, Reliance Industries up by 1.74%, SBI up by 1.05%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.02% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.96%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.60%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.40%, Power Grid down by 0.68%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.67% and Nestle down by 0.65% were the top losers.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15443.30, up by 105.45 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 15405.45 and 15455.55. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 3.38%, JSW Steel up by 2.81%, Eicher Motors up by 2.62%, ONGC up by 2.59% and Hindalco up by 2.38%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.60%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.53%, Wipro down by 0.91%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.68% and Bajaj Auto down by 0.65% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 635.23 points or 2.23% to 29,184.24, Straits Times rose 22.43 points or 0.71% to 3,187.25, Hang Seng jumped 146.01 points or 0.50% to 29,259.21, Taiwan Weighted soared 252.14 points or 1.52% to 16,853.75, KOSPI advanced 26.14 points or 0.83% to 3,191.65 and Jakarta Composite added 18.61 points or 0.32% to 5,860.44, while Shanghai Composite was down by 0.98 points or 0.03% to 3,607.87.