Bourses extend gains in late afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks added more gains in late afternoon session, with the Sensex and the Nifty gaining above 350 and 100 points, respectively. Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv and SBI were the prime gainers among heavy-weights. Sentiments remained upbeat after Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) in its monthly report has said that the economic impact of the second wave COVID-19 is likely to be restricted to the first quarter of 2022. As per the DEA, rapid vaccination of India's population and the frontloading of the fiscal measures are the key to invigorating investment and consumption. Meanwhile, all-powerful GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will meet on June 12 to decide on GST rate cut for COVID essentials and black fungus medicine. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green ahead of US inflation data and a European Central Bank meeting, while traders also tracked China-US relations after Joe Biden dropped a Trump-era bid to ban TikTok and WeChat. European markets were trading mostly in red, as traders await the European Central Bank (ECB) releasing its latest monetary policy decision, and giving its view on the eurozone recovery.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 52,304.53, up by 362.89 points or 0.70% after trading in a range of 51957.92 and 52301.87. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.01%, while Small cap index was up by 1.64%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.37%, Realty up by 1.15%, Telecom up by 1.11%, Metal up by 1.02% and Basic Materials was up by 0.93%, while Auto down by 0.39% was the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 7.07%, Bajaj Finserv up by 4.96%, SBI up by 1.95%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.88% and Indusind Bank up by 1.79%. On the flip side, ITC down by 1.37%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.28%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.78%, HCL Tech down by 0.35% and Power Grid down by 0.33% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said that India will lose huge opportunities if it keeps out of free trade agreements (FTAs) and Indian companies must have the courage to take on global competition instead of adopting a protectionist stance. He said the fear of being flooded by imports from FTA countries is not the correct approach.

Kant said ‘you first do manufacturing, bring size and scale, become globally competitive so that you can penetrate the global market. Problem is that Indian manufacturing companies spread protectionism.’ He noted that Indian companies must look at exports and use India as a hub for penetrating the global market.

Noting that massive reforms have been carried out by the government, Niti Aayog CEO said this is the right opportunity to penetrate the global value chain because they are moving away from one country and looking for alternative locations.  He asserted ‘And therefore, this is the opportunity for India and if we don't seize this opportunity now, then we will never be able to seize again.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15,739.05, up by 103.70 points or 0.66% after trading in a range of 15648.50 and 15745.85. There were 33 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remains unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 7.03%, Bajaj Finserv up by 4.90%, Divis Lab up by 2.10%, SBI up by 2.04% and Indusind Bank up by 1.93%. On the flip side, ITC down by 1.46%, Eicher Motors down by 1.28%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.22%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.68% and UPL down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 193.00 points or 1.14% to 17,159.22, Nikkei 225 surged 97.76 points or 0.34% to 28,958.56, Jakarta Composite soared 60.06 points or 0.99% to 6,107.54, Shanghai Composite gained 19.46 points or 0.54% to 3,610.86, Straits Times advanced 17.26 points or 0.55% to 3,170.73 and KOSPI was up by 8.46 points or 0.26% to 3,224.64. On the flip side, Hang Seng was down by 3.75 points or 0.01% to 28,738.88.

European markets were trading mostly in red, France’s CAC decreased 18.80 points or 0.29% to 6,544.65 and Germany’s DAX was down by 51.49 points or 0.33% to 15,529.65. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was up by 16.54 points or 0.23% to 7,097.55.