Benchmarks remain in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green in morning deals, led by gains in IT, TECK, FMCG and Auto stocks. Traders also took some support with report stated that the outstanding portfolio of the microfinance industry registered a 2 per cent quarter-and-quarter growth to around Rs 2,26,000 crore as of September 2021. The same stood at Rs 2,22,060 crore during the three months ended June 2021. Though, underlying sentiment remained cautious amid concerns about elevated oil prices and FII selling. Some anxiety also came with Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar stated that cryptocurrencies are even worse than Ponzi schemes and threaten the financial sovereignty of a country. Observing that crypto-technology is underpinned by a philosophy to evade government controls, he said they have been specifically developed to bypass the regulated financial system.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as traders remain cautious and continue to track the rising geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine. Back home, on the sectoral front, stocks related to Auto industry remained in action as Secretary in the Heavy Industry Ministry Arun Goel stated that the Production Linked Incentives Scheme for the automobile and auto components sector will lead to creation of 7.5 lakh additional jobs and incremental production worth Rs 2,31,500 crore over the next five years.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 56672.57, up by 266.73 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 56438.47 and 56955.09. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.20%, while Small cap index was down by 0.91%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.89%, TECK up by 0.83%, FMCG up by 0.55%, Auto up by 0.41% and Energy up by 0.24%, while Utilities down by 1.75%, Power down by 1.46%, Metal down by 1.44%, Oil & Gas down by 0.87% and PSU down by 0.70% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Co up by 1.66%, Wipro up by 1.42%, Infosys up by 1.41%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.34% and Nestle up by 1.23%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.81%, ICICI Bank down by 0.94%, Indusind Bank down by 0.91%, Axis Bank down by 0.67% and NTPC down by 0.57% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, making a strong case for banning cryptocurrencies, Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar has said they are even worse than Ponzi schemes and threaten the financial sovereignty of a country. Observing that crypto-technology is underpinned by a philosophy to evade government controls, he said they have been specifically developed to bypass the regulated financial system.

He stated cryptocurrencies can wreck the currency system, monetary authority, banking system, and in general the government's ability to control the economy. He noted ‘We have also seen that cryptocurrencies are not amenable to definition as a currency, asset or commodity; they have no underlying cash flows, they have no intrinsic value; that they are akin to Ponzi schemes, and may even be worse. These should be reason enough to keep them away from the formal financial system.’

Additionally, he said they undermine financial integrity, especially the KYC regime and AML/CFT (anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism) regulations and at least potentially facilitate anti-social activities. He stated  ‘They threaten the financial sovereignty of a country and make it susceptible to strategic manipulation by private corporates creating these currencies or governments that control them...We have examined the arguments proffered by those advocating that cryptocurrencies should be regulated and found that none of them stand up to basic scrutiny.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16896.40, up by 53.60 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 16839.25 and 16998.95. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Shree Cement up by 1.84%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.75%, Nestle up by 1.75%, Titan Company up by 1.63% and Eicher Motors up by 1.61%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 3.39%, Tata Steel down by 2.18%, Indusind Bank down by 1.56%, ICICI Bank down by 1.06% and Hindalco down by 1.00% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 slipped 286.34 points or 1.06% to 26,793.25, Hang Seng decreased 172.93 points or 0.7% to 24,383.64, KOSPI fell 35.85 points or 1.33% to 2,668.63 and Straits Times trembled 10.52 points or 0.31% to 3,410.68.

On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 12.37 points or 0.07% to 18,010.04, Shanghai Composite gained 13.63 points or 0.4% to 3,442.51 and Jakarta Composite soared 44.11 points or 0.65% to 6,778.60.