Key indices trim gains in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed most of their initial gains and were trading marginally higher in morning deals, led by gains in Realty, Auto and Banking stocks. Traders found some support with Union Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that India's export performance in the first six months of 2021-22 shows that outbound shipments will exceed the target of $400 billion in the ongoing fiscal year. However, gains remain capped as some concern came with RBI data showed the country's foreign exchange reserves declined by $1.47 billion to $639.642 billion in the week ended September 17. Traders also remain concerned with report stating that as many as 470 infrastructure projects, each worth Rs 150 crore or more, have been hit by cost overruns totalling more than Rs 4.37 lakh crore. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank has issued Master Direction on loan transfer, requiring banks and other lending institutions to have a comprehensive board-approved policy for such transactions.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as traders continue to express concerns that the coronavirus situation in the region and other countries, particularly in the U.S., could dent the pace of global economic recovery from the pandemic. Traders also remained concerned about the uncertainty on the situation with China Evergrande, as the indebted property company has not provided clarification about its ability to pay interest on the dollar-denominated bonds. Back home, on the sectoral front, stocks related to Tourism sector remained in focus as the Confederation of Hospitality, Technology and Tourism Industry said that with the help of large-scale vaccination programmes and new norms rolling out, the tourism sector is inching its way back to recovery, and restart of tourism will help kick-start recovery and growth.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60124.64, up by 76.17 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 60057.18 and 60412.32. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.59%, while Small cap index was down by 0.01%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.94%, Auto up by 1.70%, Bankex up by 1.02%, Oil & Gas up by 0.91% and PSU up by 0.79%, while IT down by 1.60%, TECK down by 1.47%, Healthcare down by 1.22%, Consumer Durables down by 0.76% and Power down by 0.74% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 3.29%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.12%, HDFC Bank up by 1.68%, SBI up by 1.35% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.20%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 2.63%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.25%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.23%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.35% and Infosys down by 1.34% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the Indian economy is on a sustained path of revival and cited rise in GST collections and direct taxes to support her assertion.  She also said that the confidence in the Indian stock market is growing as retail and small investors are keenly investing money in the share market. She noted that the half-yearly target has already been achieved in direct taxes.

Sitharaman said today retail and small investors are taking keen interest in the stock market and investing in it. Earlier, retail investors were participating through mutual funds. She pointed out that now they are going through mutual funds and also go directly and participate (invest in stock market) through demat accounts. Therefore, today interest in the stock market is growing and more investment is taking place and more retail investments are taking place and all it is happening in a transparent manner. She stated that as a result, confidence in the Indian stock market is growing.

Talking on whether petrol and diesel would be brought under the GST, she said at the time of implementation of GST, the central and State governments had included petrol and diesel in it. She also said there is a provision in the GST law that petrol and diesel can be in GST.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17867.90, up by 14.70 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 17848.65 and 17943.50. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 4.07%, Maruti Suzuki up by 3.27%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.07%, ONGC up by 1.95% and HDFC Bank up by 1.68%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 2.78%, HCL Technologies down by 2.66%, Divi's Lab down by 2.56%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.28% and Tech Mahindra down by 2.26% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 2.81 points or 0.01% to 30,246.00, Shanghai Composite declined 1.30 points or 3625.96% to 47.13, Jakarta Composite lost 0.38 points or 6141.47% to 23.21 and Taiwan Weighted dropped 0.01 points or 17278.11% to 2.22.

On the flip side, KOSPI rose 0.19 points or 3121.7% to 5.95, Straits Times advanced 35.01 points or 1.14% to 3,096.36 and Hang Seng increased 67.59 points or 0.28% to 24,259.75.