Benchmarks trade higher in late afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks traded higher in late afternoon session amid strong global cues. Traders took note of report that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has sought Parliament nod to spend a net additional Rs 23,675 crore, including Rs 17,000 crore for the health ministry, in the current financial year. As per the first batch of supplementary demands for grants tabled in the Lok Sabha by Sitharaman, although the gross additional expenditure is over Rs 1.87 trillion in 2021-22, the actual cash outgo will only be Rs 23,674.81 crore as the remaining spending will be met through savings and higher receipts and recoveries. Sector wise, auto industry stocks remained in focused with a private report that India's automotive electronics market is expected to cross $18 billion by 2027 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17 per cent, driven by rising income levels and increasing customer preference for in-vehicle digital experience.

On the global front, All Asian markets were trading higher for a second day as optimism about an economic recovery appeared to outweigh concern over rising coronavirus cases and inflation. European markets were trading higher as signs of a strong corporate earnings season and expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB) will stick to a dovish stance lifted demand for risky equities.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 52715.98, up by 517.47 points or 0.99% after trading in a range of 52471.23 and 52864.82. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 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 1.32%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.59%, Metal up by 2.37%, Capital Goods up by 2.25%, Consumer Durables up by 1.78% and TECK was up by 1.75%, while FMCG down by 0.23%, Auto down by 0.12% and Utilities was down by 0.01% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 5.00%, Bajaj Finance up by 4.31%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.35%, Bharti Airtel up by 3.33% and Larsen & Toubro up by 2.89%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.89%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.87%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.15%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.82% and Axis Bank down by 0.25% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has said that the proposed e-commerce regulations could negatively impact consumer interest, while creating a high level of uncertainty and increase compliance burden for not just e-commerce companies but MSMEs providing services to online retailers. The draft e-commerce rules released by the government on June 21 proposes to ban fraudulent flash sales and mis-selling of goods and services on e-commerce platforms.

The association said that a uniform application of these Amendments/Rules across all e-commerce models would not be feasible, is far from ideal, would impact businesses as well as consumers, and will create a high level of uncertainty in an industry that is still in its growth stages and would benefit from light handed regulation. It noted that the amendments fail to provide a level-playing field between online and offline e-commerce/retail. Under the amendments, e-commerce platforms will face several restrictions and increased compliance burden.

However, the industry body said same will not be applicable on the brick-and-mortar stores. It also pointed out that implementation of the amendments in its current form will significantly increase the compliance burden on MSMEs as well as for start-ups who are not even in the e-commerce business, but provide services to e-commerce.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15784.25, up by 152.15 points or 0.97% after trading in a range of 15726.40 and 15825.90. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 4.90%, Bajaj Finance up by 4.25%, JSW Steel up by 3.56%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.33% and Bharti Airtel up by 3.07%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.95%, Asian Paints down by 1.93%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.28%, Eicher Motors down by 0.89% and Hero MotoCorp down by 0.81% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher, Hang Seng increased 499.26 points or 1.83% to 27,723.84, Nikkei 225 surged 159.84 points or 0.58% to 27,548.00, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 113.54 points or 0.65% to 17,572.33, Jakarta Composite soared 107.57 points or 1.78% to 6,137.55, Straits Times advanced 41.02 points or 1.32% to 3,160.02, KOSPI rose 34.30 points or 1.07% to 3,250.21 and Shanghai Composite was up by12.07 points or 0.34% to 3,574.73.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 13.11 points or 0.19% to 7,011.39, France’s CAC increased 37.53 points or 0.58% to 6,502.01 and Germany’s DAX was up by 125.65 points or 0.81% to 15,548.15.