Barometer gauges maintain gains

Stock markets were trading in fine fettle in the noon session due to heavy buying in PSU, Utilities and Power sectors. Buying in frontline stocks such as NTPC, SBI and Power Grid were aiding sentiment, while selling in Infosys, Sun Pharma and Ultratech Cement kept the gains in the markets in check. Sentiments were upbeat as government data 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. In another positive development, foreign institutional investors stood as buyer with net buying of shares worth Rs 902.64 crore, while domestic institutional investors’ net purchased shares worth Rs 803.11 crore in the Indian equity market on 3 January. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher despite worries that the widespread Omicron COVID-19 variant could put the brakes on global economic recovery.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59578.39, up by 395.17 points or 0.67% after trading in a range of 59084.40 and 59599.47. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.08%, while Small cap index was up by 0.16%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 1.52%, Utilities up by 1.12%, Power up by 1.11%, Bankex up by 1.08% and Energy was up by 1.08%, while Healthcare down by 0.64%, IT down by 0.40%, Metal down by 0.38%, TECK down by 0.22% and Basic Materials was down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 3.81%, SBI up by 2.45%, Power Grid up by 2.15%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.53% and Axis Bank was up by 1.43%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 0.90%, Sun Pharma down by 0.87%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.83%, Wipro down by 0.69% and HCL Tech was down by 0.65% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a framework allowing offline payments up to Rs 200 per transaction, subject to an overall limit of Rs 2,000. An offline digital payment means a transaction that does not require internet or telecom connectivity. Offline transactions are expected to give a push to digital transactions in areas with poor or weak internet or telecom connectivity, particularly in semi-urban and rural areas. The new framework is applicable with immediate effect.

Under the offline mode, payments can be carried out face-to-face (proximity mode) using any channel or instrument like cards, wallets, and mobile devices. These transactions will not require an additional factor of authentication (AFA). Since the transactions are offline, alerts (by way of SMS and/or e-mail) will be received by the customer after a time lag.

The offline mode of payment can be enabled after obtaining the specific consent of the customer. The customers will continue to enjoy protection under the provisions of circulars limiting customer liability and will have recourse to the Reserve Bank Integrated Ombudsman Scheme for grievance redress. Further, the acquirer should incur all liabilities arising out of technical or transaction security issues at the merchant’s end. The RBI also emphasized that offline payments will be covered under the provisions of its limited customer liability circulars.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17727.35, up by 101.65 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 17593.55 and 17734.00. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 3.81%, ONGC up by 2.83%, SBI up by 2.35%, Power Grid Corp up by 2.12% and Hindustan Unilever up by 1.71%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.81%, Tata Consumer Produc down by 1.68%, Coal India down by 1.09%, Infosys down by 0.95% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.95% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher, Jakarta Composite soared 28.11 points or 0.42% to 6,693.42, KOSPI rose 0.47 points or 0.02% to 2,989.24, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 255.84 points or 1.4% to 18,526.35, Straits Times advanced 39.23 points or 1.25% to 3,173.48 and Nikkei 225 was up by 510.08 points or 1.77% to 29,301.79.

On the other hand, Shanghai Composite declined 8.57 points or 0.24% to 3,631.21 and Hang Seng was down by 7.56 points or 0.03% to 23,267.19.