Sensex, Nifty cut gains in late morning session

Indian equity benchmarks cut more gains in late morning session but managed to remain higher, on the back of positive cues from other Asian markets. Gains got trimmed, as the International Monetary Fund said that global debt surged to $226 trillion last year, its biggest one-year jump since World War Two, and will be put at risk if global interest rates rise faster than expected and growth falters. However, key indices remained in green terrain, as traders were getting support, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Union cabinet's decision on designing and manufacturing semiconductor chips in India would encourage research and innovation, boost manufacturing and help fulfil the dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, even after the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to expand in December, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank showed on Thursday with a manufacturing PMI score of 54.2. That's down from 54.5 in November, although it remains well above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57850.96, up by 62.93 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 57850.66 and 58337.20. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.56%, while Small cap index was down by 0.38%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.02%, TECK up by 0.82%, Oil & Gas up by 0.41%, Energy up by 0.34% and Capital Goods up by 0.10%, while Utilities down by 0.85%, Auto down by 0.77%, Healthcare down by 0.76%, FMCG down by 0.59% and Realty down by 0.56% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 2.15%, Infosys up by 1.92%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.11%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.70% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.61%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.81%, Sun Pharma down by 1.73%, Indusind Bank down by 1.21%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.11% and ITC down by 0.80% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in a bid to position India as a global hub for hi-tech production, the Union Cabinet has approved a Rs 76,000 crore policy boost for semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country. The scheme is expected to usher in a new era in electronics manufacturing by providing a globally competitive incentive package to companies in semiconductors and display manufacturing as well as design. It will strengthen India's technological prowess in these areas of strategic importance and economic self-reliance.

The programme will give an impetus to semiconductor and display manufacturing by facilitating capital support and technological collaborations. The government has lined up an attractive incentive support for companies engaged in silicon semiconductor fabs, display fabs, compound semiconductors, silicon photonics, sensors fabs, semiconductor packaging and semiconductor design. The scheme for setting up of semiconductor fabs and display fabs in India will extend fiscal support of up to 50 per cent of project cost to eligible applicants.

The Centre will work closely with the state governments on high-tech clusters with requisite infrastructure in terms of land, semiconductor grade water, power, logistics and research ecosystem, to approve applications for setting up at least two greenfield semiconductor fabs and two display fabs in the country.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17232.90, up by 11.50 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 17232.15 and 17379.35. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 2.04%, Infosys up by 1.83%, ONGC up by 1.46%, Wipro up by 1.32% and Grasim Industries up by 1.21%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 2.14%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.78%, Sun Pharma down by 1.66%, Hindalco down by 1.65% and Hero MotoCorp down by 1.50% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 511.72 points or 1.8% to 28,971.44, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 91.09 points or 0.52% to 17,751.19, Shanghai Composite gained 10.22 points or 0.28% to 3,657.85, KOSPI rose 7.10 points or 0.24% to 2,996.49 and Straits Times advanced 6.00 points or 0.19% to 3,120.88. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite lost 44.90 points or 0.68% to 6,581.36 and Hang Seng decreased 189.28 points or 0.81% to 23,231.48.