Markets trade flat with negative bias in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made cautious start on Tuesday amid mixed global cues. Markets are trading near neutral lines with negative bias in early deals due to selling in Realty, IT and TECK stocks, whereas buying in PSU, Power and Utilities capped the losses. Traders took note of report that the finance ministry said the government will borrow Rs 5.03 trillion in the second half of the current fiscal to fund the revenue gap for reviving the pandemic-hit economy. During the first half, the government has raised Rs 7.02 trillion by issuing bonds. Though, some support came as ratings agency Icra revised up its 2021-22 real GDP growth estimate for India to 9 per cent from the earlier 8.5 per cent. It said a ramp-up in COVID-19 vaccination, healthy advance estimates of kharif (summer) crop and faster government spending were the factors which led to the revision. Besides, India recorded a spike of less than 20,000 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours.

Most of the Asian markets are trading lower following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with uncertainty of interest rates and the coronavirus infections in the region tempered by support from climbing crude oil prices. The mood also remained somewhat cautious with investors continuing to keep an eye on developments surrounding debt-laden China Evergrande. Back home, coal industry stocks were in focus with a private report that India’s massive fleet of coal plants are running dangerously low on stockpiles, which may force the nation to buy expensive shipments of the fuel or else risk blackouts. In scrip specific development, Whirlpool of India traded higher as it inked a pact to acquire an additional 38% stake in Elica PB India for $57 million (around Rs 420 crore).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60029.60, down by 48.28 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 59899.57 and 60288.44. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index added 0.02%, while Small cap index was up by 0.14%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 1.83%, Power up by 1.32%, Utilities up by 1.27%, Oil & Gas up by 1.17%, Metal up by 1.07%, while Realty down by 1.19%, IT down by 0.92%, TECK down by 0.84%, Healthcare down by 0.40%, Consumer discretionary down by 0.12% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 3.43%, Power Grid up by 3.18%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.75%, SBI up by 1.38% and Titan Company up by 1.25%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.33%, Infosys down by 1.29%, HCL Technologies down by 1.11%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.83% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.78% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, ratings agency ICRA in its latest report has raised the country's FY22 real GDP (gross domestic product) forecast to 9 per cent from 8.5 per cent earlier, citing the brightening prospects for H2FY22. The report said the country is benefitting from the rapid ramp-up in Covid-19 vaccine administration, healthy advance estimates of kharif output and the withdrawal of expenditure management measures related to the government’s spending.

The report stated the widening coverage of Covid-19 vaccines is likely to boost confidence, which will in-turn re-energise demand for contact-intensive services, helping to revive the portions of the economy affected most by the pandemic. Moreover, it said the robust kharif harvest is also likely to sustain the consumption demand from the farm sector.

It mentioned the expected acceleration in the central government spending after the withdrawal of the earlier cash management guidelines will recharge this key driver of aggregate demand.  ICRA expects GVA growth at 8.6 per cent, while CPI inflation to be between 5.3-55 per cent in FY22. WPI inflation is expected to remain at 10 per cent in the current fiscal year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17847.25, down by 7.85 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 17814.75 and 17912.85. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 3.59%, NTPC up by 3.35%, Power Grid up by 3.07%, IOC up by 2.15% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.82%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.39%, Infosys down by 1.32%, HCL Technologies down by 1.15%, Cipla down by 1.10% and Wipro down by 0.95% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 126.47 points or 0.42% to 30,113.59, Straits Times declined 13.30 points or 0.43% to 3,087.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 161.71 points or 0.93% to 17,152.06, KOSPI fell 27.49 points or 0.88% to 3,106.15 and Jakarta Composite was down by 5.86 points or 0.10% to 6,116.64. On the other hand, Hang Seng surged 357.46 points or 1.48% to 24,566.24 and Shanghai Composite was up by 18.83 points or 0.53% to 3,601.66.