Markets trade near intraday highs in late trade

Indian equity benchmarks were trading near intraday highs in late trade with frontline gauges reclaiming their crucial 57,400 (Sensex) and 17,050 (Nifty) levels. Buying in healthcare and banking counters mainly supported the upmove. Traders continued to take support after a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank, Jayanth R Varma expressed hope that in a few quarters from now, capital investment would begin to pick up even in the old economy, and said the next fiscal year is also expected to witness a decent growth.

Positive trade in European counters too aided sentiments as traders shrugged off concern that Omicron variant of COVID-19 driving up infections around the world. Asian markets were trading mixed as traders evaluated spiking coronavirus cases and a weekend pledge of greater economic support from China’s central bank. Back home, traders shrugged off report that investments in Indian capital market through participatory notes (P-notes) dropped to Rs 94,826 crore till November-end after hitting 43-month high in the preceding month.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57439.17, up by 314.86 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 56543.08 and 57453.79. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.28%, while Small cap index was up by 0.55%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.41%, Bankex up by 0.81%, Consumer Durables up by 0.78%, IT up by 0.50% and Industrials up by 0.48%, while Metal down by 0.31%, Oil & Gas down by 0.08%, Energy down by 0.07% and Telecom down by 0.03% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 3.64%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.03%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.82%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.34% and ICICI Bank up by 1.23%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 0.71%, Asian Paints down by 0.48%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.38%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.25% and ITC down by 0.11% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to guard local manufacturers from cheap imports from the neighboring country, Government of India has imposed anti-dumping duties on five Chinese products, including certain aluminum goods and some chemicals, for five years.

The duties have been imposed on certain flat-rolled products of aluminum; sodium hydrosulfite (used in dye industry); silicone sealant (used in the manufacturing of solar photovoltaic modules, and thermal power applications); hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) component R-32; and hydrofluorocarbon blends (both have used in refrigeration industry).

These duties were imposed following recommendations of the commerce ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR). The DGTR in separate probes has concluded that these products have been exported at a price below normal value in Indian markets, which has resulted in dumping.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17086.25, up by 82.50 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 16833.20 and 17095.35. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 3.59%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.06%, Cipla up by 2.03%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.37% and ICICI Bank up by 1.29%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 1.21%, Indusind Bank down by 0.72%, ONGC down by 0.61%, Britannia Industries down by 0.45% and Coal India down by 0.41% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 lost 106.13 points or 0.37% to 28,676.46, KOSPI fell 12.88 points or 0.43% to 2,999.55 and Shanghai Composite was down by 2.08 points or 0.06% to 3,615.97. On the other hand, Straits Times added 1.42 points or 0.05% to 3,109.70, Taiwan Weighted rose 87.30 points or 0.49% to 18,048.94 and Jakarta Composite was up by 12.54 points or 0.19% to 6,575.44.

European markets were trading higher, France’s CAC gained 4.63 points or 0.07% to 7,091.21 and Germany’s DAX was up by 29.24 points or 0.19% to 15,785.55.