Markets trade near day’s high points in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets were hovering near highs of the day on the back of strong gains in financial shares. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index are trading with marginal gains. Sentiments remained upbeat, as commerce ministry is planning to launch Brand India Campaign to give momentum to exports of both services and products in new markets, as the country’s outbound shipments all set to cross $400 billion this fiscal year. This campaign would serve as an ‘umbrella campaign’ for promoting goods and services exported by India. Sector wise, pharma industry remain in focused, as ratings agency ICRA in its latest report has said that the Indian pharma industry is estimated to grow at 9-11 per cent in 2021-22 and in the next few quarters, supported by gradual recovery post the impact of COVID-19. In a sample of 21 Indian pharmaceutical companies, it said revenue growth was moderate at 6.4 per cent in the second quarter of FY22, down from 16 per cent in the first quarter of 2021-22.

On the global front, Asian markets and European markets were trading mostly in red following a tepid lead from Wall Street, with inflation and expected interest rate hikes returning to the key focus of concerns as Omicron fears fade for now.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60238.66, up by 382.73 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 59661.38 and 60300.76. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.29%, while Small cap index was up by 0.04%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 2.48%, Oil & Gas up by 1.21%, Metal up by 1.05%, Telecom up by 0.90% and Auto was up by 0.82%, while IT down by 1.83%, TECK down by 1.50%, Power down by 0.74%, Utilities down by 0.45% and Healthcare was down by 0.28% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 5.08%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.99%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 3.55%, ICICI Bank up by 2.52% and HDFC Bank up by 2.48%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.77%, Infosys down by 2.52%, HCL Tech down by 1.68%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.39% and NTPC down by 1.35% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, inviting suggestions from industry leaders to strengthen the textiles sector globally, Union Minister for Textiles, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Piyush Goyal has said that Industry and Government are partners in India’s growth story & now, is the time to be a Global Champion in Textiles by taking up bigger & bolder targets.

Thanking the Pime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister for the decision to defer the increase of tax slab from 5% to 12% for Textiles, taken in the 46th meeting of GST council, Goyal said that this is a new year gift for the Textile Industry. He added that the requests of industry stakeholders were considered in present challenging times when the sector is on the path of recovery.

The Minister further mentioned that under Prime Minister, the textile sector has received a new boost to achieve Speed, Skill & Scale.  He also said “To make India Aatmanirbhar, we need to make our Artisans, Weavers, Farmers & MSMEs Aatmanirbhar”.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17911.05, up by 105.80 points or 0.59% after trading in a range of 17748.85 and 17934.70. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finserv up by 4.82%, Bajaj Finance up by 4.00%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 3.51%, ICICI Bank up by 2.58% and Indian Oil up by 2.50%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.85%, Infosys down by 2.66%, HCL Tech down by 1.69%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.39% and Divi's Lab down by 1.38% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Hang Seng decreased 382.59 points or 1.64% to 22,907.25, Shanghai Composite declined 37.15 points or 1.02% to 3,595.18, KOSPI fell 35.27 points or 1.18% to 2,953.97, Jakarta Composite lost 33.07 points or 0.49% to 6,662.30, Taiwan Weighted dropped 26.39 points or 0.14% to 18,499.96 and Straits Times was down by 23.70 points or 0.75% to 3,157.43. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was up by 30.37 points or 0.1% to 29,332.16.

European markets were trading mostly in red, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 5.50 points or 0.07% to 7,499.65 and France’s CAC was down by 0.63 points or 0.01% to 7,316.78. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX increased 22.04 points or 0.14% to 16,174.65.