Local equities trade above water in late afternoon session

The local equities traded above water in late afternoon session. Buying in Energy and Metal stocks helped markets to trade above neutral lines. India VIX was up 6.95%. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were also trading with limited gains. Traders took note of report that finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated the government is worried about the impact on its exports due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The finance minister asked for industry feedback on any difficulties in payments due to the conflict. She noted that the areas of concern include pharmaceutical exports and imports of fertiliser from the region. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as optimism over talks between Russia and Ukraine outweighed concerns over banning Russia from the Swift financial system. European markets were trading lower, as Swiss economy grew at a slower pace in the fourth quarter due to the restrictive measures associated with the pandemic weighed on activity.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55992.23, up by 133.71 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 54833.50 and 56078.05. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.07%, while Small cap index was up by 0.18%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 4.55%, Energy up by 2.12%, Basic Materials up by 1.97%, Utilities up by 1.70% and Oil & Gas was up by 1.35%, while Bankex down by 1.09%, Auto down by 0.93%, Telecom down by 0.36%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.15% and Healthcare was down by 0.07% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 5.27%, Power Grid up by 5.02%, Reliance Industries up by 2.65%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.04% and NTPC up by 1.96%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 2.76%, HDFC Bank down by 2.24%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.19%, Axis Bank down by 2.14% and Nestle down by 1.67% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to facilitate evidence-based decision making for effective public health interventions, the Union Cabinet has approved the national roll-out of Central Sector Scheme, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, with a budget of Rs.1,600 crore for five years. The National Health Authority (NHA) will be the implementing agency of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.

Based on the foundations laid down in the form of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM) trinity and other digital initiatives of the government, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission is creating a seamless online platform through the provision of a wide-range of data, information and infrastructure services, duly leveraging open, interoperable, standards-based digital systems while ensuring the security, confidentiality and privacy of health-related personal information.

Under the ABDM, citizens will be able to create their ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) numbers, to which their digital health records can be linked. This will enable creation of longitudinal health records for individuals across various healthcare providers, and improve clinical decision making by healthcare providers. The mission will improve equitable access to quality healthcare by encouraging use of technologies such as telemedicine and enabling national portability of health services.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16710.85, up by 52.45 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 16356.30 and 16741.75. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 7.69%, Power Grid up by 5.12%, Tata Steel up by 5.07%, JSW Steel up by 4.07% and BPCL up by 2.90%. On the flip side, HDFC Life Insurance down by 3.12%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 2.67%, HDFC Bank down by 2.29%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.27% and Axis Bank down by 2.21% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Nikkei 225 surged 50.32 points or 0.19% to 26,526.82, KOSPI rose 22.42 points or 0.84% to 2,699.18 and Shanghai Composite was up by 10.90 points or 0.32% to 3,462.31. On the flip side, Hang Seng decreased 54.16 points or 0.24% to 22,713.02 and Straits Times was down by 61.39 points or 1.86% to 3,233.08.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 127.40 points or 1.7% to 7,362.06, France’s CAC decreased 211.26 points or 3.13% to 6,541.17 and Germany’s DAX was down by 372.07 points or 2.55% to 14,195.16.