Markets add gains in afternoon deal

Indian bourses added more gains in afternoon session with Sensex and Nifty trading up by 332 and 77 points respectively. Healthy buying was observed in blue-chip stocks like Infosys, TCS and Larsen & Toubro. Sentiments were upbeat as commerce and industry ministry in its latest data has showed that foreign direct investment (FDI) equity inflows into India increased by 60 percent to $4.44 billion in April 2021 as against $2.77 billion in the same month last year. Meanwhile, government has notified the accounting standards for small and medium companies that revise the turnover and borrowing limits as well as help in making disclosure requirements less onerous.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher as traders digested commentary from Federal Reserve officials on the outlook for stimulus. Back home, in scrip specific development, shares of Reliance Industries were in focus as its 44th Annual General Meeting will be held today. The company will not only shed light on the company's performance of the last year but also reveals the company's growth plan for the near future, among other things.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 52638.83, up by 332.75 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 52385.05 and 52658.36. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.36%, while Small cap index was down by 0.14%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 2.03%, TECK up by 1.76%, Metal up by 1.21%, Capital Goods up by 0.94% and Basic Materials was up by 0.47%, while Utilities down by 1.43%, Oil & Gas down by 1.32%, Power down by 1.22%, Energy down by 1.20% and Realty was down by 0.64% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 2.56%, TCS up by 2.53%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.84%, Tata Steel up by 1.80% and Mahindra & Mahindra was up by 1.26%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.21%, Reliance Industries down by 1.19%, NTPC down by 0.98%, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 0.76% and Bajaj Finserv was down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings has slashed India's Gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 9.5 percent for the current fiscal (FY21), from 11 percent earlier, and warned of risk to the outlook from further waves of COVID pandemic. It lowered the growth outlook saying that a severe second COVID-19 outbreak in April and May led to lockdowns imposed by states and sharp contraction in economic activity. Stating that permanent damage to private and public sector balance sheets will constrain growth over the next couple of years, it projected India's growth at 7.8 percent in the next fiscal ending March 31, 2023.

The agency has stated that further pandemic waves are a risk to the outlook given that only about 15 percent of the population has received at least one vaccine dose so far, although vaccine supplies are expected to ramp up. It also said Indian economy contracted by 7.3 percent in fiscal 2020-21 as the country battled the first wave of COVID, as against a 4 percent growth in 2019-20. GDP growth in the current fiscal was estimated to be in double digits initially, but a severe second wave of pandemic has led to various agencies cut growth projections.

It further said manufacturing and exports were less severely affected compared with 2020, but services were acutely disrupted. It noted that households are running down saving buffers to support consumption and a desire to rebuild saving could hold back spending even as the economy reopens. It stated that monetary and fiscal policies will remain accommodative but new stimulus will not be forthcoming. It added that RBI has no room to cut interest rates with inflation above 6 percent the upper end of the central bank target range.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15764.10, up by 77.15 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 15702.70 and 15784.05. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were TCS up by 2.71%, Infosys up by 2.57%, JSW Steel up by 2.01%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.56% and Tata Steel was up by 1.38%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 1.20%, NTPC down by 1.15%, Power Grid down by 1.12%, Adani Ports down by 1.04% and Hero MotoCorp was down by 0.99% were the top losers.

Asian market were trading mostly higher, Nikkei 225 surged 0.34 points or 0% to 28,875.23, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 71.25 points or 0.41% to 17,407.96, Straits Times advanced 2.69 points or 0.09% to 3,121.31, KOSPI rose 9.91 points or 0.3% to 3,286.10 and Hang Seng was up by 68.37 points or 0.24% to 28,885.44.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite lost 18.63 points or 0.31% to 6,015.91 and Shanghai Composite was down by 0.28 points or 0.01% to 3,565.94.