Markets magnify previous session’s gains with gap-up opening

With a gap-up opening, Indian equity markets have extended their previous session’s gains amid gains across global markets. Markets are trading with gains of over half percent in early deals on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the session is also proving fruitful for broader indices, which outperforming larger counterparts are trading with gains in the range of 0.75-1.25%. Sentiments got boost as crude oil price fell and investors celebrated signs of progress in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Further, support also came in with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that India’s sharp economic recovery post COVID-19 and Budget initiatives will help in sustaining growth momentum in the years to come. She stated the government’s road map for imparting momentum to the economy focusses on growth at the macro level and complementing it with all-inclusive welfare at the micro level, promoting digital economy and fintech, technology-enabled development, energy transition and climate action and relying on a virtuous cycle of investment and growth. Meanwhile, she said FDI into the country during the Modi government was USD 500.5 billion, which is 65 per cent more than the amount received in the 10 years of the UPA government, as investors have trusted the economic management of the current regime.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly higher following the broadly positive cues overnight from US markets, as reports about encouraging progress in a cease-fire talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey helped lift investors’ sentiment. The US markets ended higher on Tuesday as investors welcomed encouraging economic data and as talks on ending the war in Ukraine showed signs of progress.

Back home,  there were some buzz in Gem and jewellery stocks as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal called upon gem and jewellery exporters to target USD 100 billion of exports annually in the coming years as the sector holds huge potential to boost outbound shipments. In stock specific developments, shares of Tata Coffee (TCL) and Tata Consumer Products (TCPL) rallied on the BSE after TCPL announced a reorganisation plan in line with its strategic priority of unlocking synergies and efficiencies.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58343.12, up by 399.47 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 58176.00 and 58422.41. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.77%, while Small cap index up by 1.25%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.57%, Telecom up by 1.39%, Consumer Discretionary up by 1.09%, Auto up by 1.08% and Industrials up by 1.02%, while Metal down by 2.29%, Oil & Gas down by 0.66%, Energy down by 0.44%, Basic Materials down by 0.34% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 2.03%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.78%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.72%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.50% and Nestle up by 1.34%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 2.38%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.64%, Sun Pharma down by 0.72%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.36% and NTPC down by 0.04% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said India's sharp economic recovery post COVID-19 and Budget initiatives will help in sustaining growth momentum in the years to come. Sitharaman stated the government's road map for imparting momentum to the economy focusses on growth at the macro level and complementing it with all-inclusive welfare at the micro level, promoting digital economy and fintech, technology-enabled development, energy transition and climate action and relying on a virtuous cycle of investment and growth.

The government's road map was put into effect in 2014, she said, adding that major reforms, including Goods and Services Tax (GST), Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and significant reduction in corporate tax rate, were implemented. She mentioned the reforms contributed to the real GDP growing at an annual average rate of 6.8 per cent during 2014-20.

She said India's sharp economic recovery in 2021-22 and Budget measures have prompted international rating agencies to forecast a real GDP growth above 8 per cent in 2022-23. This will sustain the growth momentum in the economy. Besides, she said the Union Budget 2022-23 is the latest road map of the government for taking India's economy to a higher growth trajectory. She stated the PM Gatishakti Scheme in the Budget is a huge investment in physical infrastructure drawing from the National Infrastructure Pipeline.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17437.95, up by 112.65 points or 0.65% after trading in a range of 17387.20 and 17468.15. There were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Consumer Products up by 4.28%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.98%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.82%, Grasim Industries up by 1.76% and Bajaj Finance up by 1.69%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 4.33%, Hindalco down by 3.01%, JSW Steel down by 2.77%, Tata Steel down by 2.48% and Tech Mahindra down by 1.79% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted strengthened 139.71 points or 0.8% to 17,688.37, KOSPI rose 6.99 points or 0.26% to 2,748.06, Hang Seng increased 245.15 points or 1.12% to 22,172.78, Shanghai Composite gained 41.28 points or 1.29% to 3,245.22, Jakarta Composite soared 28.62 points or 0.41% to 7,040.31 and Straits Times was up by 1.79 points or 0.05% to 3,435.69. On the other hand, Nikkei 225 was down by 416.13 points or 1.47% to 27,836.29.