Sensex, Nifty add gains in late morning session

In a volatile session, Indian equity benchmarks added some gains in late morning deals, with both Sensex and Nifty trading in green, on the back of positive cues from other Asian markets. Domestic sentiments were positive, after reports that even while the world faces economic challenges in the face of various waves of COVID-19 pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has praised India's resilient economy while underlining the structural reforms carried out by the government in the recent years. Besides, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) turned net buyer of the US dollar in February 2022, after it bought USD 771 million on a net basis from the spot market.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after Malaysia's trade surplus rose in March with exports and imports increasing at faster paces. The data from the statistical office showed that exports gained 25.4 percent year-on-year in March, following a 16.8 percent rise in February.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57305.63, up by 138.89 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 57027.86 and 57459.89. There were 15 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.01%, while Small cap index was up by 0.92%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 2.46%, Oil & Gas up by 1.99%, Metal up by 1.59%, PSU up by 1.46% and Basic Materials up by 1.01%, while TECK down by 0.53% and IT down by 0.40% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 4.08%, SBI up by 1.68%, ICICI Bank up by 1.65%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.44% and Axis Bank up by 1.30%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 3.57%, HDFC Bank down by 2.61%, Infosys down by 1.32%, Nestle down by 0.51% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.45% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, ICRA Ratings in its latest report has said that total value of loan assets securitised by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), including Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) grew by around 43 per cent to Rs 1,25,000 crore in the last fiscal year (FY22), driven by quick economic recovery and lower base effect. The amount of loans securitised by NBFCs and HFCs stood at Rs 87,300 crore in FY21. It expects the securitisation volume to touch the pre-Covid level of Rs 2 lakh crore in fiscal 2023-24.

According to the report, the growth in securitisation volumes in FY22 was on account of the lower base of FY21 and quick recovery in economic activities following the second pandemic wave in the first quarter and limited disruptions seen during the third wave. It also said the securitisation of retail assets too was in line with earlier estimate of Rs 1.1 lakh crore, while additional securitisation of wholesale loans of close to Rs 15,000 crore was observed in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal.

The report further said for FY22, total securitisation through Direct Assignment (DA) transactions (bilateral assignment of pool of retail loans between two entities) accounted for close to 55 per cent of the total annual volumes, lower than about two-thirds seen over the past few years. It said this was partly on account of securitisation of wholesale loans in Q4, which were done through the Pass Through Certificate (PTC) route.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17233.75, up by 60.10 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 17152.60 and 17275.65. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Apollo Hospital Ent. up by 5.75%, Reliance Industries up by 4.07%, Coal India up by 2.96%, BPCL up by 2.43% and ICICI Bank up by 1.79%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 3.63%, HDFC Bank down by 2.62%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.55%, Infosys down by 1.33% and HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.17% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 185.38 points or 0.69% to 26,985.09, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 122.04 points or 0.72% to 17,020.91, Shanghai Composite gained 3.78 points or 0.12% to 3,199.30, Straits Times advanced 18.72 points or 0.57% to 3,321.79 and KOSPI rose 23.15 points or 0.86% to 2,716.36. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite lost 61.71 points or 0.85% to 7,213.58 and Hang Seng decreased 406.47 points or 1.89% to 21,111.61.