Bourses continue to move in green territory

Key benchmark indices continued to move in green territory in morning session led by strong buying in Power, Utilities, Energy and Oil & Gas counters amid firm Asian cues. Sentiment remained positive with Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President A Sakthivel’s statement that the announcement of Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) rates will help in easing liquidity and enhance the competitiveness of domestic exporters over a long-time horizon. He also said the commerce ministry should quickly upload the rates in the system so that exporters can generate their scrips instantly for utilising the benefits under the scheme. Some optimism also came with prvate report stated that COVID-19 has been a ‘watershed moment’ for India's e-retail market, driving a 12-month acceleration in penetration, and the segment is now forecast to grow to $120-140 billion by FY26. Adding to the optimism, Retailers Association of India (RAI) said retail sales across the country continued to recover in July, reaching 72 per cent of the pre-pandemic levels of July 2019, and businesses are pinning hopes on the festive seasons for a further boost.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green amid bargain hunting and economic optimism as investors await the comments by U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell for an update on the health of the global economy. Back home, on the sectoral front, textile industry’s stocks remained in focus as Icra’s report stating that home textile exporters are set to clock a 20-25 per cent growth in current financial year (FY22) with healthy margins. The pandemic-induced lifestyle changes stemming from heightened consciousness about hygiene and increased prevalence of stay-at-home options are likely to result in a robust performance for Indian home textile exporters.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 56094.66, up by 302.39 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 55961.73 and 56104.71. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.57%, while Small cap index was up by 0.32%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 0.96%, Utilities up by 0.88%, Energy up by 0.78%, Oil & Gas up by 0.72% and Capital Goods up by 0.61%, while Metal down by 0.16% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 2.63%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.16%, HDFC Bank up by 1.66%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.25% and Reliance Industries up by 0.89%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 0.49%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.42%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.35%, ICICI Bank down by 0.31% and ITC down by 0.29% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the RBI in an article on the 'State of Economy' has said that the economy is gaining traction with gradual pick up in manufacturing activity and moderation in contraction of services, spurred by comfortable liquidity conditions. Observing that the retreat of the second wave of coronavirus pandemic has been slow, it said, the aggregate demand conditions are buoyed by the release of pent-up demand post unlock, while the supply situation is improving with the monsoon catching up to its normal levels and sowing activity gaining pace.

The article noted that with the cautious unwinding of restrictions by states, human mobility has risen to levels last seen in February 2021, prior to the onset of the second wave. Electricity generation readings, too, have recovered to peak levels seen in April 2021 and are closing on to the pre-pandemic level (July 2019). As per the article, fuel consumption recorded an uptick in July 2021. While the consumption of petrol reached pre-pandemic levels and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) recorded a sequential improvement, diesel consumption slipped marginally.

On the price rise front, the article said the headline CPI inflation for July 2021 came in at 5.6 per cent, down 70 bps from 6.3 per cent a month ago and ‘reinforcing the view that the recent upsurge has peaked and the worst would be behind us’. Further, it said high frequency food price data from the Department of Consumer Affairs indicate an uptick in cereal prices in August so far. Prices of pulses, on the other hand, continue to soften. Edible oil prices are seeing some pressures. Among key vegetables, prices of potatoes, onions and tomatoes saw some seasonal increase in prices.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16693.60, up by 79.00 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 16656.15 and 16701.85. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 2.76%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.65%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.15%, HDFC Bank up by 1.78% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.33%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 0.72%, Titan Co down by 0.60%, BPCL down by 0.54%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.44% and ICICI Bank down by 0.34% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 200.30 points or 0.73% to 27,624.77, Hang Seng increased 192.95 points or 0.75% to 25,938.82, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 100.98 points or 0.61% to 16,762.34, Jakarta Composite soared 34.48 points or 0.57% to 6,122.39, KOSPI rose 29.51 points or 0.94% to 3,172.60, Straits Times advanced 27.19 points or 0.87% to 3,145.70 and Shanghai Composite gained 19.35 points or 0.56% to 3,466.33.