Benchmarks hit fresh record high in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets extended their gains to hit fresh record high in late afternoon session, breaching their crucial 59000 (Sensex) and 17600 (Nifty) levels. The broader indices, BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index are also trading in green. Among heavy-weights Indusind Bank, ITC and SBI exhibited a smart performance. Sentiments remained upbeat, as Retailers Association of India (RAI) in its latest survey has said that retail sales improved in August and reached 88 percent of the pre-pandemic levels. In July, retail sales stood at 72 per cent of the pre-pandemic levels of July 2019. Besides, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar has said that the global economic recovery is strengthening and this is the opportune moment for a change in the world order. Sector wise, Steel sector remained in focus, as commerce ministry’s arm DGTR has recommended the extension of anti-dumping duty on imports of certain steel products from countries like China, Japan and Korea to protect the domestic industry from cheap inbound shipments.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red with fears over China Evergrande Group's financial woes and the announcement of more government scrutiny of Macau casinos denting sentiment. European markets were trading higher a rebound in travel stocks and overnight strength in Wall Street helped offset concerns about China's slowing economy that dragged down miners.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59074.96, up by 351.76 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 58700.50 and 59089.45. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.35%, while Small cap index was up by 0.13%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.77%, Bankex up by 1.76%, FMCG up by 1.46%, Energy up by 1.24% and PSU was up by 1.06%, while IT down by 0.79%, Metal down by 0.71%, Basic Materials down by 0.65%, TECK down by 0.50% and Healthcare was down by 0.20% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 7.34%, ITC up by 6.90%, SBI up by 3.33%, Axis Bank up by 1.71% and Reliance Industries up by 1.58%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.33%, TCS down by 1.27%, HCL Tech down by 1.00%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.96% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.74% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, emphasising that the corporate sector should take the lead in setting the world order post the pandemic, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar has said that the global economic recovery is strengthening and this is the opportune moment for a change in the world order.

Kumar also emphasised that a new world order will usher in if the global economy remains open. Kumar further said there is a need for setting up new coalitions of like minded nations while strengthening and promoting the existing multilateral institutions to ensure a liberalised and multilateral order is put in place to serve the global community.

Niti Aayog Vice Chairman noted that the world is going through turbulent and transition times. Further, he said ''We need global institutions that are nimble and sensitive. They should not retain inertia of the moment but respond to such times”.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17607.85, up by 88.40 points or 0.50% after trading in a range of 17510.45 and 17611.35. There were 24 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remains unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 7.40%, ITC up by 6.97%, SBI up by 3.36%, Axis Bank up by 1.72% and Reliance Industries up by 1.71%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 10.30%, Grasim Industries down by 1.73%, Tata Steel down by 1.43%, TCS down by 1.29% and JSW Steel down by 1.11% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Hang Seng decreased 365.36 points or 1.46% to 24,667.85, Nikkei 225 slipped 188.37 points or 0.62% to 30,323.34, Taiwan Weighted dropped 75.30 points or 0.43% to 17,278.70, Shanghai Composite declined 49.13 points or 1.34% to 3,607.09, KOSPI fell 23.31 points or 0.74% to 3,130.09 and Jakarta Composite was down by 0.29 points to 6,109.94. On the flip side, Straits Times was up by 4.58 points or 0.15% to 3,063.19.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 33.85 points or 0.48% to 7,050.34, France’s CAC increased 46.27 points or 0.7% to 6,629.89 and Germany’s DAX was up by 95.10 points or 0.61% to 15,711.10.