Sensex, Nifty remain higher in late morning session

Firm trade continued over the Dalal Street in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading on higher note. Positive cues from other Asian markets helped key indices to remain in green terrain. Domestic sentiments were positive, amid reports that equity investors are a happy lot as their wealth jumped by Rs 4.76 lakh crore in the first two days of trading in the New Year, driven by optimism in the broader market. Some support also came with a another private report stating that export-dependent software companies are set to report a strong sequential revenue growth in the range of 2.6 to 6 per cent in the seasonally weak December quarter.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after China's manufacturing sector rebounded in December as firms signaled the strongest growth in output for a year amid a renewed uptick in total sales. The survey results from IHS Markit showed that the Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.9 in December from 49.9 in November. The reading was forecast to rise marginally to 50.0.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59454.42, up by 271.20 points or 0.46% after trading in a range of 59084.40 and 59572.83. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.03%, while Small cap index was down by 0.04%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 1.34%, Bankex up by 0.97%, Power up by 0.91%, Energy up by 0.88% and Utilities up by 0.88%, while Metal down by 0.70%, Healthcare down by 0.45%, IT down by 0.42%, TECK down by 0.37% and Basic Materials down by 0.31% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 3.37%, SBI up by 2.20%, Power Grid up by 2.00%, Axis Bank up by 1.20% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 0.90%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.89%, HCL Tech down by 0.86%, Indusind Bank down by 0.85% and Wipro down by 0.70% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, government data has showed that India’s exports surged 37 percent on an annual basis to $37.29 billion in December 2021, the highest-ever monthly figure, on the back of healthy performance by sectors like engineering, textiles and chemicals, even as the trade deficit widened to $21.99 billion. Imports in December too rose by 38 per cent to $59.27 billion on account of an increase in oil imports, which soared 65.17 per cent to $15.9 billion.

Cumulatively, during April-December 2021-22 exports rose by 48.85 per cent to $299.74 billion. Imports during the period increased by 69.27 per cent to $443.71 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $143.97 billion. In December 2021, exports of engineering goods grew by 37.27 per cent to $9.7 billion, followed by petroleum products (140 per cent to $5.6 billion), gems and jewellery (15.8 per cent to $2.98 billion), chemicals (26 per cent to $2.64 billion) and ready made garments of all textiles (22 per cent to $1.46 billion).

Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said India's merchandise exports will cross $400 billion this fiscal. He added that the third wave of COVID-19 is impacting developed economies like the US, Europe and the Middle East, and problems related to shipping lines can be expected.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17695.25, up by 69.55 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 17593.55 and 17733.65. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 3.33%, ONGC up by 2.55%, SBI up by 2.30%, Power Grid up by 1.95% and Axis Bank up by 1.27%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.87%, Tata Consumer Products down by 1.83%, Coal India down by 1.16%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.11% and Infosys down by 0.88% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 518.23 points or 1.8% to 29,309.94, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 197.64 points or 1.08% to 18,468.15, Straits Times advanced 38.34 points or 1.22% to 3,172.59 and Jakarta Composite soared 26.97 points or 0.4% to 6,692.28. On the flip side, KOSPI fell 4.10 points or 0.14% to 2,984.67, Shanghai Composite declined 12.68 points or 0.35% to 3,627.10 and Hang Seng decreased 68.49 points or 0.29% to 23,206.26.