Gaining rally continues on Dalal Street

Gaining rally continued on the Dalal Street in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading on a strong note. Positive cues from other Asian markets helped key indices to remain higher. Traders remained positive, as the USA India Chamber of Commerce has said that in the midst of third wave of COVID-19, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has come up with an impactful budget which is balanced, fiscally prudent and growth-oriented. Besides, Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) said the Union Budget reflects the government's aim to create a robust and inclusive digital economy.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green, after the manufacturing sector in Indonesia continued to expand in January, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Markit Economics revealed on Wednesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 53.7. That's up from 53.5 in December, and it moves farther above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59420.61, up by 558.04 points or 0.95% after trading in a range of 59193.05 and 59441.72. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.19%, while Small cap index was up by 1.51%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.63%, Consumer Durables up by 1.24%, Realty up by 1.11%, IT up by 0.95% and Consumer discretionary up by 0.90%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 4.77%, Indusind Bank up by 4.13%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.30%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.79% and Axis Bank up by 2.50%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 3.45%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.61%, Sun Pharma down by 0.55%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.55% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.20% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce ministry in its provisional data has said that the country's exports rose by 23.69 per cent to $34.06 billion in January 2022 on healthy performance by engineering, petroleum and gems and jewellery segments. Imports in January grew by 23.74 per cent to $52.01 billion. Trade deficit, difference between imports and exports, widened to $17.94 billion during the month as against $14.49 billion in the same month last year.

Cumulatively, exports during April-January 2021-22 rose by 46.53 per cent to $335.44 billion as against $228.9 billion in the same period last year. Imports during the period jumped by 62.68 per cent to $495.83 billion. Trade deficit stood at $160.38 billion during the ten months period of this fiscal as compared to $75.87 billion in April-January 2020.

According to the data, engineering exports rose by 24.13 per cent to $9.2 billion, petroleum by 74.73 per cent to $3.73 billion and gems and jewellery by 13.83 per cent to $3.23 billion. Pharmaceuticals exports, however, dipped by 1 per cent to $2.05 billion in January. Besides, gold imports in January dipped by 40.42 per cent to $2.4 billion. Crude oil imports rose by 21.3 per cent to $11.43 billion in January.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17731.90, up by 155.05 points or 0.88% after trading in a range of 17674.80 and 17749.00. There were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finserv up by 4.58%, Indusind Bank up by 4.17%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.38%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.97% and HCL Tech. up by 2.45%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 3.45%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 0.81%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.67%, Shree Cement down by 0.59% and Sun Pharma down by 0.57% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 471.47 points or 1.74% to 27,549.95 and Jakarta Composite soared 75.22 points or 1.13% to 6,706.37.