Firm trade continues over Dalal Street

Firm trade continued over the Dalal Street in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty holding notable gains, on the back of positive cues from other Asian markets. Traders were positive, as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Union budget for 2022-23 was about the philosophy of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant Bharat) as customs duties were increased on those imported products which are also manufactured in India so that people buy the Indian equivalent. However, duties have not been increased on the products produced within the country. Besides, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched a unified payments interface (UPI) service for feature phones, a move which is expected to give a big boost to digital payment adoption in the country.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after Japan's gross domestic product expanded an annualized 4.6 percent on year in the fourth quarter of 2021, the Cabinet Office said on Wednesday - well shy of forecasts for a gain of 5.6 percent following the downwardly revised 2.8 percent contraction in the previous three months (originally -2.7 percent). On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP was up just 1.1 percent - again missing expectations for 1.4 percent after shrinking 0.7 percent in the three months prior.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 53958.88, up by 534.79 points or 1.00% after trading in a range of 53367.52 and 54019.60. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.11%, while Small cap index was up by 1.34%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 2.21%, TECK up by 1.66%, IT up by 1.57%, Telecom up by 1.54% and Healthcare up by 1.47%, while Metal down by 1.12%, PSU down by 0.48%, Bankex down by 0.33%, Oil & Gas down by 0.08% and Power down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 3.33%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.66%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.20%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.15% and Infosys up by 2.14%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 2.31%, NTPC down by 1.76%, Tata Steel down by 1.34%, Axis Bank down by 1.32% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the interest equalisation scheme for pre and post shipment rupee credit for Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) exporters till March 2024 with the objective of boosting outbound shipments. Exporters get subsidy under the 'Interest Equalisation Scheme for pre and post-shipment Rupee Export Credit'. The extension takes effect from October 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2024.

The RBI said in April 2021, the scheme was first extended till June end and later till September 2021. The interest equalisation rates under the scheme have been revised to 2 per cent and 3 per cent for specified categories of MSME manufacturer exporters.  The scheme will not apply to telecom instruments and entities availing benefits under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme of the government. While issuing approval to the exporter, the bank will be required to furnish the prevailing interest rate, the interest subvention being provided, and the net rate being charged to each exporter, so as to ensure transparency and greater accountability in the operation of the scheme.

It further said from April 1, 2022, banks shall reduce the interest rate charged to the eligible exporters upfront as per the guidelines and submit the claims in original within 15 days from the end of the respective month in the prescribed format. The RBI further said for the October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 period, banks shall identify the eligible exporters as per the scheme, credit their accounts with the eligible amount of interest equalisation and submit sector-wise consolidated reimbursement claim for the period to the Reserve Bank by April 30, 2022. Meanwhile, India's merchandise export in February 2022 was $33.81 billion, an increase of 22.36 per cent over $27.63 billion in the same month of 2021.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16174.80, up by 161.35 points or 1.01% after trading in a range of 15990.00 and 16175.65. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Reliance Industries up by 3.51%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.78%, Infosys up by 2.55%, Tata Consumer Products up by 2.31% and Hindustan Unilever up by 2.20%. On the flip side, Shree Cement down by 2.70%, Power Grid down by 2.45%, JSW Steel down by 1.85%, NTPC down by 1.79% and UPL down by 1.43% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted strengthened 240.08 points or 1.43% to 17,065.33, Nikkei 225 surged 141.48 points or 0.57% to 24,932.43, Jakarta Composite soared 55.50 points or 0.81% to 6,869.68, Straits Times advanced 26.66 points or 0.85% to 3,175.52. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 35.36 points or 1.07% to 3,258.17 and Hang Seng decreased 454.64 points or 2.19% to 20,311.23.