Markets trade in fine-fettle in early deals; Nifty regains 17k mark

Indian equity benchmarks made gap-up opening on Tuesday tracking firm trend in the global markets. Sensex and Nifty are trading in fine-fettle in early deals on account of buying in almost all the sector indices except Healthcare. Gains in the markets were led by Metal, Realty and Bankex indices. Traders took encouragement with a private report that Indian economy is showing strong signs of recovery from the devastation caused by the pandemic, with an upswing being reported in 19 out of the 22 economic indicators as compared to the pre-Covid levels. Some support came in as new research from the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and digital currency exchange CrossTower has said web 3.0, the idea that the next iteration of the Internet which will be built on concepts of decentralisation, openness, and greater user utility, can help India contribute an additional $1.1 trillion of economic growth to its GDP over the next 11 years.

Most of the Asian markets traded higher following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, on surging crude oil prices and as traders are picking up stocks at a bargain after the recent virus-infused heavy sell-off. Traders also reacted positively to easing concerns about the coronavirus Omicron variant amid indications the new strain causes milder symptoms. Back home, the fertilizer industry stocks were in focus with Crisil’s report that the Centre’s fertiliser subsidy bill is set to soar by 62 per cent over the budgeted amount to Rs 1.3 lakh crore this fiscal due to the massive rise in raw material prices despite lower demand. In scrip specific development, Godrej Properties traded higher as it entered into a joint venture (JV) with TDI group to develop an ultra-luxury residential project in Connaught Place (CP), one of the most premium locations within the central business district of New Delhi.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57183.72, up by 436.58 points or 0.77% after trading in a range of 56992.27 and 57229.37. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.41%, while Small cap index was up by 0.71%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.26%, Realty up by 1.49%, Bankex up by 1.32%, Basic Materials up by 1.26%, Oil & Gas up by 1.12%, while Healthcare down by 0.43% was the sole losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.63%, Tata Steel up by 2.21%, Axis Bank up by 1.76%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.38% and HDFC up by 1.25%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.14%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.13% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.05% were the few losers.

Meanwhile, new research from the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and digital currency exchange CrossTower has said web 3.0, the idea that the next iteration of the Internet which will be built on concepts of decentralisation, openness, and greater user utility, can help India contribute an additional $1.1 trillion of economic growth to its GDP over the next 11 years. Digital assets like Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, Algorand, stablecoins and other blockchains are the fuel of the future financial ecosystem and Web 3.0. In the first phase of its evolution, the Internet was driven by users consuming information. In the second phase, which is ongoing, users also became contributors with the advent of social media.

In Web 2.0, people’s data is owned by large organisations such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon. In Web 3.0, the data is envisaged to be owned by consumers and resides on blockchain networks, as opposed to centralised organizations. To provide some perspective, in 2013, the market capitalization of the digital asset market was approximately $1.5 billion, and today, the market capitalization is at nearly $3.0 trillion. Comparing the success of the US in the Internet industry, evident in the fact that 17 US firms are among the top 25 major public tech companies by market capitalisation worldwide, it said India can take a leap in Web 3.0 if it adopts the right kind of policies.

It noted ‘The US became a hotbed for tech firms in the early days of the internet largely due to the numerous frameworks that policymakers implemented early on, creating a structure for massive innovative projects. India should consider substantively similar structures, such as private/public partnerships, grants and frameworks for education at every level, sandboxes for regulatory clarity, venture capital programs and incentives for foreign investment, and other strong and clear policies. This will thrust India into a world leadership role in digital assets and Web 3.0’. It concluded ‘The digital asset industry could see growth that is far more explosive, given how revolutionary it is. Just like the internet, digital assets stand to impact most, if not all, industries. In fact, we believe the potential impact of digital assets is much larger than that of the internet. To seize the prosperity that digital assets can bring, India must take appropriate actions now’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17074.40, up by 162.15 points or 0.96% after trading in a range of 16987.75 and 17078.65. There were 45 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 3.19%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 3.02%, JSW Steel up by 2.82%, Axis Bank up by 2.31% and Tata Steel up by 2.26%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.05%, Cipla down by 1.03%, Divi's Lab down by 0.52%, SBI Life Insurance down by 0.30% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.10% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 soared 498.52 points or 1.79% to 28,425.89, Straits Times rose 10.23 points or 0.33% to 3,126.55, Hang Seng jumped 353.82 points or 1.52% to 23,703.20, KOSPI added 6.70 points or 0.23% to 2,979.95, Jakarta Composite surged 47.22 points or 0.72% to 6,594.34 and Shanghai Composite was up by 4.42 points or 0.12% to 3,593.73, while Taiwan Weighted was down by 16.54 points or 0.09% to 17,671.67.