Key indices remain in green in morning session

Indian equity benchmarks remained in green in morning session, amid gains in index heavyweight Reliance Industries, HCL Technologies and Hindustan Unilever. Traders took some support with Union Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey’s statement that the government is working on establishing charging infrastructure across the country in order to promote faster adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country. Some support also came with Union minister Nitin Gadkari’s statement that the government looks to increase the contribution of the automobile sector to India's GDP to 12 per cent from the present 7.1 per cent and grow employment generation to 50 million from the current 37 million. However, gains remain capped as rating agency Moodys stating that India's second Coronavirus (Covid-19) wave is increasing asset risks for banks in retail and the SME loan segment. However, factors like tight credit underwriting, strong loss provisions will help banks withstand pressures and prevent a sharp rise in bad loans.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as traders remain spooked amid the continuing spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus in the region and in several countries as well as the strong resurgence of infection rates in the U.S. Back home, on the sectoral front, insurance industry stocks’ remained in focus with a private report that the government is mulling allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country's largest insurer LIC, a move which would help overseas investors take part in the company's proposed mega IPO.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 56078.11, up by 133.90 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 55854.07 and 56112.39. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 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 0.65%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.41%, Capital Goods up by 0.98%, Power up by 0.97%, Oil & Gas up by 0.81% and Industrials up by 0.81%, while Telecom down by 1.52%, Metal down by 0.73%, PSU down by 0.28%, Auto down by 0.20% and Basic Materials down by 0.15% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 1.68%, HCL Technologies up by 1.39%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.04%, Asian Paints up by 0.96% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.56%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.93%, Power Grid Corp down by 1.57%, NTPC down by 0.83%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.80% and Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.59% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey has said that the government is working on establishing charging infrastructure across the country in order to promote faster adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country. He said various ministries and government departments are collaborating to set up charging infrastructure on highways and in cities. He also said ‘we are looking to promote environment-friendly vehicles. We came up with FAME-I, and after it received good response, we announced FAME-II scheme with an enhanced outlay of Rs 10,000 crore.’

The minister lauded the role played by the automotive sector in generating goods and services tax (GST) as well as providing employment opportunities to over 3 crore people in the country. He noted that the automotive sector contributes 6.4 per cent to the country's GDP. The sector accounts for 50 per cent of the entire GST collections. He pointed out that the country has now become the fourth-largest auto market in the world, and it is therefore an important part for achieving the goal of a $5-trillion economy.

Pandey said that in order to encourage the industry, the government has come out with Rs 1.5 lakh crore production-linked incentive scheme. He said that under the Atmanirbhar Mission, the country not only wants to cater to its domestic demand but also wants to export good-quality products to various international markets. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16669.65, up by 35.00 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 16611.15 and 16683.70. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Reliance Industries up by 1.68%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.58%, HCL Tech. up by 1.44%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 1.26% and Britannia Industries up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.92%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.57%, Eicher Motors down by 1.02%, JSW Steel down by 1.00% and Hindalco down by 0.92% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 369.76 points or 1.44% to 25,324.19, Jakarta Composite lost 55.02 points or 0.9% to 6,058.22, KOSPI fell 19.42 points or 0.62% to 3,127.39, Shanghai Composite declined 17.80 points or 0.5% to 3,522.58 and Straits Times trembled 1.49 points or 0.05% to 3,106.00.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 8.38 points or 0.03% to 27,733.18 and Taiwan Weighted strengthened 13.07 points or 0.08% to 17,058.93.