Markets open at record highs; Sensex surpasses 61K mark

Indian equity benchmarks continued their bull run and made optimistic start on Thursday tracking gains in other Asian peers. Markets are trading firm in early deals with gains of over half a percent each. Sensex and Nifty opened at record highs and are trading above their crucial levels of 61,000 and 18,250, respectively. Buying in all the sector indices led by Realty, PSU and Capital Goods aided the markets. Sentiments got boost as Retailers Association of India (RAI) said retail sales in September this year were at 96 per cent of the pre-pandemic levels of the same month in 2019 as the sector shows signs of recovery. Additional support also came in as World Bank president David Malpass said the Indian economy that was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic is now in recovery mode and the World Bank welcomes that. However, traders overlooked the IMF’s 2021 Fiscal Monitor report, which projected that India's debt to jump to 90.6 percent in 2021 and then decline to 88.8 percent in 2022, to gradually reach 85.2 percent in 2026. India's debt increased from 68.9 percent of its GDP in 2016 to 89.6 percent in 2020. Markets participants are keenly watching out for WPI Inflation numbers to be out later in the day.

Global cues remained supportive with all the Asian markets trading higher following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street, led by gains in technology stocks. Traders are also upbeat after seeing a sharp drop in domestic coronavirus cases from a month ago in Japan. Hong Kong market is closed on account of National Day. Back home, cement industry stocks were buzzing as rating agency Icra expects the all-India cement production in FY22 at 332 million tonne, up 12 per cent from last year supported by pent-up demand, rural housing requirement and pickup in infrastructure activity. In scrip specific development, Infosys advanced as it beat street estimates on all the fronts and raised its annual revenue guidance.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61050.13, up by 313.08 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 61018.59 and 61159.48. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index jumped 0.85%, while Small cap index was up by 0.64%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.59%, PSU up by 1.34%, Capital Goods up by 1.34%, Metal up by 1.21%, Industrials up by 1.04%, while there was no loser.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 2.24%, SBI up by 1.69%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.35%, Infosys up by 1.21% and NTPC up by 1.13%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.02%, HCL Technologies down by 0.75%, Indusind Bank down by 0.49%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.26% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.13% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that as the Indian economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic that hit it hard, it is important for the country to focus on public investment, particularly in green sectors so that the recovery can be inclusive and green. IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department Deputy Director Paolo Mauro has said India's debt is at the ratio of about 90 per cent, and it is important to give a signal that there is a medium?term fiscal framework in place that ensures investors that the debt ratio will decline in the medium term.

Mauro also said that the situation is improving when it comes to the epidemic. He said it is very different from a few months ago, and added that fortunately, the number of cases is declining and the vaccination is becoming more widespread. He said ‘On the economic front, therefore, even though the situation is improving, the priority remains to address the health emergency. It remains to provide ample support, particularly to the poorer segments of the population through social protection, employment benefits, and so on’.

He said ‘in terms of more recent reforms, one that I would like to highlight is the National Asset Reconstruction Company, the so?called bad bank. This is potentially very promising because it is important to tackle non?performing loans’. He added this has been a long?standing drag on credit, and potentially this is very promising. He noted ‘It is very important that both the governance and the independence of such so?called bad banks be in place so that the costs to public finances can be kept under control and one can go back to promoting inclusive growth’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18261.35, up by 99.60 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 18254.50 and 18294.75. There were 42 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Wipro up by 3.92%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.21%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.87%, SBI up by 1.80% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.64%. On the flip side, TCS down by 0.96%, Tata Motors down by 0.77%, HCL Technologies down by 0.65%, Indusind Bank down by 0.49% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.43% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 402.42 points or 1.43% to 28,542.70, Straits Times rose 3.94 points or 0.12% to 3,160.36, Taiwan Weighted added 44.07 points or 0.27% to 16,392.06, KOSPI jumped 36.06 points or 1.22% to 2,980.47, Jakarta Composite advanced 93.20 points or 1.43% to 6,630.10 and Shanghai Composite was up by 5.38 points or 0.15% to 3,567.14.