Benchmarks trade firm in early deals; Nifty climbs 17,200 mark

Indian equity benchmarks extended their previous session’s gains with gap-up opening on Thursday following global markets rally after US Fed's interest rate hike. Also, negotiations between Russia and Ukraine continued and China pledged support for its slowing economy, aided the domestic indices. Markets are trading firm in early deals with gains of over a percent each on account of board bases buying. Sentiments got some support with a private report stating that private equity and venture capital investments for the month of February 2022 were about $5.8 billion, 2.3 times the value recorded in February 2021 ($2.5 billion) and 24 per cent higher than investments in January 2022 ($4.6 billion). Some support also came in as the income tax department said income tax refunds worth over Rs 1.92 lakh crore have been issued to more than 2.24 crore taxpayers so far this fiscal. Meanwhile, the bilateral trade in goods is projected to increase from the current $60 billion to $100 billion annually within five years of the implementation of the India-UAE free trade agreement.

On the global front, Asian markets traded mostly higher following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, following the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement and the Chinese government's pledge to come up with more economic stimulus. Optimism about a potential diplomatic solution to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine also generated buying interest. Back home, aviation industry stocks were in focus with report that Jet fuel prices were hiked by over 18 per cent - the steepest ever increase - to all-time high levels after international oil price surged to a multi-year high. The increase - sixth straight this year - led to prices soaring past the Rs 1-lakh-per-kilolitre mark for the first time ever. In scrip specific development, Voltas rose after it announced forming a joint venture with Highly International (Hong Kong) to manufacture and sell inverter compressors for room air-conditioners, and others.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57645.89, up by 829.24 points or 1.46% after trading in a range of 57518.06 and 57709.74. All the 30 stocks were advancing on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.48%, while Small cap index up by 1.23%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 2.48%, Bankex up by 1.91%, Consumer Disc up by 1.82%, Realty up by 1.54%, Industrials up by 1.29%, while there was no loser on BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 3.69%, HDFC up by 3.21%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.49%, Axis Bank up by 2.22% and Bajaj Finance up by 2.18%, while there was no loser.

Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings in its latest report has said that large oil importers like India and Thailand will be the most affected among Asia-Pacific countries by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. S&P estimates the Indian economy to grow 7.8 per cent in the next fiscal year beginning April 1, 2022. Besides, the economy is expected to grow 6 per cent and 6.5 per cent in 2023-24 and 2024-25, respectively. It projected inflation at 5.4 per cent in the current fiscal year.

It said banks in Asia-Pacific (APAC) region have small direct exposure to Russia which will soften the impact of the conflict, but proximate downside risks -- in particular, actual and potential secondary economic and other risks -- lie ahead. As per the report, the biggest risk of the Ukraine conflict is market volatility and higher commodity prices; emerging economies with large energy imports are most at risk.

India relies on overseas purchases to meet about 85 per cent of its oil requirement, making it one of the most vulnerable in Asia to higher oil prices. International oil prices had climbed to a 14-year high of near $140 per barrel last week on fears of supply disruption following Russia's invasion of Ukraine beginning February 24. Rates have since eased to around $100 per barrel. S&P said India and Thailand are large oil importers and will be the most affected among large Asia-Pacific countries.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17207.45, up by 232.10 points or 1.37% after trading in a range of 17175.75 and 17228.85. There were 48 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 3.39%, HDFC up by 3.05%, Tata Consumer Produc up by 2.63%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.52% and Eicher Motors up by 2.42%. On the flip side, IOC down by 0.78% and ONGC down by 0.39% were the only losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 805.25 points or 3.13% to 26,567.26, Straits Times rose 31.40 points or 0.95% to 3,322.30, Hang Seng jumped 1,084.77 points or 5.40% to 21,172.27, Taiwan Weighted soared 436.81 points or 2.58% to 17,377.64, KOSPI gained 48.82 points or 1.84% to 2,708.05 and Jakarta Composite was down by 1.24 points or 0.02% to 6,991.16, while Shanghai Composite added 82.25 points or 2.59% to 3,252.96.