Indian markets maintain upward momentum

Indian equity markets maintained their upward momentum in the noon session following gains in Realty, Basic Materials and IT stocks. Healthy buying was observed in blue-chip stocks like NTPC, Indusind Bank and Wipro. Sentiments were upbeat as Deputy Governor Michael Patra stated that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) remains committed to revive and sustain growth and continue to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, while ensuring that inflation remains within target. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower as the Federal Reserve gave notice that the days of ultra-cheap cash were coming to an end quicker than some had envisaged. Back home, Spicejet surged as Supreme Court has stayed High Court's order directing winding up of proceedings.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58064.93, up by 787.99 points or 1.38% after trading in a range of 57570.31 and 58084.33. There were 28 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 2.70%, while Small cap index was up by 2.47%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 3.03%, Basic Materials up by 2.66%, IT up by 2.55%, Metal up by 2.36% and Healthcare was up by 2.35%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 6.04%, Indusind Bank up by 3.95%, Wipro up by 3.20%, Sun Pharma up by 3.06% and Mahindra & Mahindra was up by 3.04%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.42% and Power Grid was down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India has initiated an anti-dumping probe against 'Ursodeoxvcholic Acid', used in the medical field, imported from China and Korea following a complaint by a domestic player. Arch Pharmalabs has filed an application before the directorate for initiation of anti-dumping investigation and imposition of the duty.

The commerce ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has started the probe into alleged dumping of this acid, which is used as medical therapy in gallstone disease (cholelithiasis) and for biliary sludge. It said the applicant has claimed that the injury to the domestic industry is being caused due to dumped imports from China and Korea.

The Directorate said that ‘on the basis of the duly substantiated written application filed by or on behalf of the domestic industry, and having satisfied itself, on the basis of the prima facie evidence submitted by the domestic industry about the dumping...the authority hereby initiates an investigation’. If it is established that the dumping has caused material injury to the domestic players, the DGTR will recommend the imposition of anti-dumping duty on the imports from these countries. The finance ministry takes the final decision to impose the duties.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17366.30, up by 256.15 points or 1.50% after trading in a range of 17206.30 and 17373.50. There were 48 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 5.96%, Indusind Bank up by 3.99%, UPL up by 3.50%, Wipro up by 3.34% and ONGC up by 3.32%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.43% and Power Grid Corp down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly lower; Hang Seng decreased 260.63 points or 1.09% to 23,546.37, Shanghai Composite declined 9.65 points or 0.28% to 3,384.60, Straits Times trembled 1.90 points or 0.06% to 3,258.13 and Jakarta Composite was down by 0.82 points or 0.01% to 6,610.34.

On the other hand, KOSPI rose 48.85 points or 1.87% to 2,663.34 and Nikkei 225 was up by 547.04 points or 2.09% to 26,717.34.