Sensex, Nifty remain higher in late morning session

Indian equity benchmarks remained higher in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading with notable gains, despite negative cues from other Asian markets. Domestic sentiments remained positive, as exports from special economic zones (SEZs) grew by about 41.5 per cent to reach Rs 2.15 lakh crore during the April-June quarter of the current fiscal (Q1FY22) driven by healthy growth in pharmaceuticals, engineering, and gems and jewellery sectors. SEZs are key export hubs which contribute about one-fourth of the country's total outbound shipments.

But, gains were limited, as stock brokers' association Anmi has said shifting to the T+1 settlement system would make India a pre-funding market, and global institutional investors will face multiple issues with the structure. Currently, trades on the Indian stock exchanges are settled in two working days after the transaction is done (T+2).

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, after China's service sector contracted in August amid the renewed virus flare-up. The official survey results from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the official non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, which measures the performance of the services and construction sectors, declined to 47.5 in August from 53.3 a month ago. A reading below 50 indicates contraction in the sector.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57036.65, up by 146.89 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 56859.10 and 57124.78. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.76%, while Small cap index was up by 0.82%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.47%, Utilities up by 1.43%, Healthcare up by 1.27%, Power up by 1.23% and Metal up by 0.92%, while Energy down by 0.53% and IT down by 0.01% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 2.47%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.17%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.02%, Asian Paints up by 1.41% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.34%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 1.09%, Nestle down by 0.83%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.62%, Indusind Bank down by 0.60% and Infosys down by 0.46% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Road Transport Secretary Giridhar Aramane has said the ambitious Rs 100 lakh crore-Gatishakti programme will provide the framework for timely implementation of the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) initiative with minimal cost overruns. A holistic infrastructure development programme that aims to boost employment opportunities and productivity of industries, Gatishakti was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech on August 15. The initiative is set to be launched in September. Gatishakti provides the implementation framework for NIP. Gatishakti basically ensures that the National Infrastructure Pipeline is implemented in time and as per the original estimated cost, with very little overrun of costs and time. He did not provide specific details about Gatishakti.

The NIP was launched with 6,835 projects and the numbers have expanded since then. The projects identified under this ambitious programme are estimated to require an investment of Rs 111 lakh crore during FY 2020-25 period. Both the initiatives will play a key role in bolstering infrastructure development activities amid the country striving to become a $5 trillion economy in the near future. He said ‘So, without Gatishakti, NIP implementation will be a huge problem. So, it is essential that we implement Gatishakti along with the NIP so that full efficiency is harvested’. He also said the entire process of launching the InvIT has been completed, NHAI also has discussed with various investors and there is a very good response. Canadian pension funds have shown interest (in NHAI InvIT), and some other investors from abroad are also interested.

Aramane, who is also chairman of NHAI, said ‘Domestic FIIs and other companies who are involved in the tolling contracts will also be interested in taking the stake’. According to him, there shall not be any problems in terms of the investments. He said ‘We are going with an appropriate size of the package, around 350 to 400 km. So, monetising that in a very appropriate fashion shall not be a problem’. According to a recent Niti Aayog document, the NHAI InvIT issue is envisaged to be privately placed and the indicative value of the fundraising from the current tranche underway is about Rs 5,000 crore. The first tranche of the InvIT is expected to consist of 586 km of NH assets in Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal, and Bihar. The second tranche of follow-on-issue of the InvIT is also being explored by NHAI. InvITs are pooled investment vehicles that draw institutions and wealthy individual investors with returns from underlying assets, such as toll roads.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16978.75, up by 47.70 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 16915.85 and 16995.55. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indian Oil Corp up by 2.33%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.29%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.10%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.95% and Bajaj Finance up by 1.89%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.32%, Reliance Industries down by 1.01%, Nestle down by 0.74%, Indusind Bank down by 0.67% and Infosys down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 365.37 points or 1.43% to 25,174.17, Taiwan Weighted dropped 128.24 points or 0.74% to 17,268.28, Straits Times trembled 43.76 points or 1.41% to 3,058.35, Shanghai Composite declined 26.61 points or 0.75% to 3,501.54 and Jakarta Composite lost 19.63 points or 0.32% to 6,125.27. On the flip side, KOSPI rose 32.36 points or 1.03% to 3,176.55 and Nikkei 225 surged 332.80 points or 1.2% to 28,122.09.