Benchmarks add some gains in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks added some gains in morning deals tracking gains in index majors NTPC, Power Grid Corporation and Indusind Bank, as a sharp fall in global crude prices and foreign fund inflows boosted investors’ sentiment. Sentiments remained up-beat with a labour ministry’s statement that retail inflation for industrial workers eased to 5.04 per cent in February from 5.84 per cent in January this year mainly due to lower prices of certain food items. Traders took note of report that the finance ministry stated that the Union government is looking to raise Rs 8.45 lakh crore through borrowings in the first half of 2022-23 to fund the revenue gap for reviving the economy. Out of the gross market borrowing of Rs 14.31 lakh crore estimated for the next financial year, Rs 8.45 lakh crore is planned to be borrowed in the first half or April-September period. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red amid indications the Kremlin is using talk of de-escalation in Ukraine as cover while regrouping, resupplying its forces and redeploying them for a stepped-up offensive in the eastern part of the country.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58820.84, up by 252.33 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 58450.04 and 58841.16. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.92%, while Small cap index was up by 1.40%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.82%, PSU up by 1.72%, Power up by 1.71%, Telecom up by 1.57% and Oil & Gas up by 1.29%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.07% and TECK down by 0.06% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 3.37%, Power Grid Corporation up by 2.51%, Indusind Bank up by 2.10%, Tata Steel up by 1.53% and HDFC Bank up by 1.39%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 1.03%, Infosys down by 0.79%, Nestle down by 0.29%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.25% and ICICI Bank down by 0.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari said that India has registered overall 162 per cent growth in the sales of electric vehicles (EV) this year. He stated that a total 10,95,746 electric vehicles were registered in India with 1,742 charging stations operable as on March 13, 2022. He said on a year-over-year basis, the sales have risen. He highlighted that the category-wise, two-wheeler sales have increased by more than five times at 423 per cent, three-wheelers by 75 per cent, four-wheelers by 238 per cent and buses by 1,250 per cent.

Further, talking about the battery swapping policy, he said out of total, around 85 per cent Lithium Iron battery is being manufactured in India.  He mentioned ‘We have fixed standard in battery. If any manufacturer is not doing as per the fixed standard, action will be taken against them.’  Moreover, he asserted that for charging electric vehicles, government priority is to use green energy.

Besides, he said ‘the government's policy is to entertain all new research, giving opportunity to new startup, by which we can establish appropriate technology which is more convenient and economically viable for the consumers.’ He also said ‘The NHAI is developing charging and amenities at every 40 km and we are trying to use solar and wind power for that.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17542.95, up by 78.20 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 17422.70 and 17547.40. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 3.19%, Power Grid Corporation up by 2.65%, Indusind Bank up by 2.24%, BPCL up by 2.17% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.50%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 3.08%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.25%, Titan Company down by 1.15%, Infosys down by 0.77% and Nestle down by 0.35% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 159.37 points or 0.72% to 21,837.48, Taiwan Weighted dropped 126.95 points or 0.72% to 17,566.52, Nikkei 225 slipped 101.56 points or 0.37% to 27,719.87, KOSPI fell 19.73 points or 0.72% to 2,737.92 and Jakarta Composite lost 10.55 points or 0.15% to 7,060.89.

On the flip side, Straits Times advanced 1.72 points or 0.05% to 3,410.24 and Shanghai Composite gained 20.20 points or 0.62% to 3,272.40.