Sensex, Nifty continue gaining rally

Indian equity benchmarks continued gaining rally in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading on a strong note, as bulls held a tight grip over the Dalal Street. Positive cues from other Asian markets helped key indices to maintain gaining rally. Traders remained positive, as markets regulator Sebi extended the deadline till September 30 next year for the applicability of the tweaked reporting requirements for alternative investment funds (AIFs). Earlier, the deadline was December 31, 2021. Besides, a High-Level Committee chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah has approved Rs 3,063.21 crore of additional central assistance to six states under the National Disaster Response Fund.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after industrial output in South Korea advanced a seasonally adjusted 5.1 percent on month in November. The Statistics Korea said that easily beat expectations for an increase or 2.5 percent following the upwardly revised 2.9 percent contraction in October (originally -3.0 percent). On a yearly basis, industrial production advanced 5.9 percent - again exceeding forecasts for 3.2 percent and accelerating from 4.5 percent in the previous month.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58271.43, up by 477.11 points or 0.83% after trading in a range of 57846.52 and 58304.82. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.08%, while Small cap index was up by 0.99%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.43%, Basic Materials up by 2.09%, Consumer Durables up by 1.93%, Telecom up by 1.70% and Auto up by 1.55%, while IT down by 0.14% was the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Co up by 3.63%, Ultratech Cement up by 3.03%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.97%, Axis Bank up by 1.95% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.94%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 1.58%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.79%, Infosys down by 0.66%, Wipro down by 0.22% and Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.13% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Road Transport Secretary Giridhar Aramane has said that ‘all weather terrain’ might well be a befitting description for the country's road sector. It said weathering the pandemic-induced twists and turns, the sector will see more stretches of national highways, completion as well as awarding of multiple projects and fund raises in 2022, making it a better year than the passing one.

Aramane said connectivity with remote and tough terrains, decongesting major points in the road network, an integrated multi-modal national network of transportation and logistics, and steering ahead with the ambitious voluntary vehicle scrappage policy are also on the 2022 radar. He also said while the pandemic ravaged many a sectors at different points of time in the last nearly two years, the road sector grappled with barriers but the progress in terms of national highway construction was stellar. He pointed out that due to monsoon, state-owned agencies that are into construction of national highways faced some problems during August and September in certain states.

Regarding monetisation of road assets, the secretary pointed out that all the roads built by the state agencies are monetised for a short term, ranging from 1-3 years, or for a longer tenure spanning 15-25 years. About the proposed second InVIT, he said, ‘we are planning a small one, around Rs 2,500-3,000 crore. We are in the process of preparing for the issue.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17361.85, up by 157.90 points or 0.92% after trading in a range of 17238.50 and 17365.90. There were 43 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 5.02%, Titan Co up by 3.47%, Ultratech Cement up by 3.03%, Shree Cement up by 2.92% and BPCL up by 2.28%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 1.69%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.70%, Infosys down by 0.55%, Cipla down by 0.50% and Wipro down by 0.15% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Shanghai Composite gained 12.95 points or 0.36% to 3,632.14 and Hang Seng increased 285.66 points or 1.24% to 23,397.67. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 2.96 points or 0.09% to 3,123.68.