Equity markets extend gains in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets extended their gains in late afternoon session. Among heavy-weights Tata Steel, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance exhibited a smart performance. Traders remained optimistic after RBI data showed that Bank credit grew by 6.55 per cent to Rs 108.89 lakh crore and deposits by 10.58 per cent to Rs 155.70 lakh crore in the fortnight ended August 13, 2021. Besides, support also came in as foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country rose by more than two fold to $17.57 billion during April-June this fiscal on account of measures such as policy reforms and ease of doing business. On the global front, all Asian markets were trading higher amid U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's remarks at the Jackson Hole Symposium calmed fears over the tapering timetable. European markets were trading higher as hopes that continued central bank support would sustain an economic recovery offset woes over rising Delta COVID-19 variant cases.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 56,800.82, up by 676.1 points or 1.20% after trading in a range of 56309.86 and 56751.42. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.73%, while Small cap index was up by 1.65%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.89%, Basic Materials up by 2.39%, Utilities up by 2.33%, Power up by 2.19% and Realty was up by 2.05%, while IT down by 0.66% and TECK was down by 0.47% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 4.40%, Axis Bank up by 4.16%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.78%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.73% and Asian Paints up by 2.27%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.80%, Infosys down by 0.98%, TCS down by 0.65%, Nestle down by 0.61% and HCL Tech down by 0.21% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to capture inflation expectations and consumer confidence, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched the next round of households surveys, which provide useful inputs for its monetary policy. The central bank has been regularly conducting these surveys.

Announcing the launch of the September 2021 round of Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH), the RBI said the survey aims at capturing subjective assessments on price movements and inflation, of about 6,000 households, based on their individual consumption baskets, across 18 cities.

The September 2021 round of the Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS) seeks qualitative responses from households regarding their sentiments on the general economic situation, employment scenario, price level, and households' income and spending.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16,908.65, up by 203.45 points or 1.22% after trading in a range of 16764.85 and 16898.90. There were 43 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 4.27%, Axis Bank up by 4.23%, Divi's Lab up by 4.14%, Coal India up by 3.10% and ONGC up by 2.79%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.87%, Infosys down by 0.91%, Eicher Motors down by 0.72%, TCS down by 0.57% and Nestle down by 0.51% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher, Jakarta Composite soared 1.71 points or 6062.11% to 103.53, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 1.08 points or 17244.62% to 186.59, Straits Times advanced 0.69 points or 3092% to 21.24, Nikkei 225 surged 0.54 points or 27867.6% to 148.15, Hang Seng increased 0.52 points or 25406.49% to 131.65, KOSPI rose 0.33 points or 3160.87% to 10.29 and Shanghai Composite was up by 0.17 points or 3535.07% to 5.99.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 23.03 points or 0.32% to 7,148.01, France’s CAC increased 0.10 points or 6690.28% to 6.86 and Germany’s DAX was up by 0.23 points or 15856.71% to 36.18.