Indian markets maintain upward momentum

Indian equity markets maintained their upward momentum in afternoon session following gains in Energy, Auto and Oil & Gas stocks. Healthy buying was observed in blue-chip stocks like Ultratech Cement, Bharti Airtel and Maruti Suzuki. Traders took support as describing the Indian economy's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic as distinct and pronounced, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman exuded confidence about India posting robust economic growth this decade. Sentiments were also upbeat as India is planning to set up ‘digital only’ banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to ensure that business continuity in the lending system is not affected even in exceptional times. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors grappled with high U.S. yields and China's cautious economic policy response to pandemic lockdowns.

Back home, in scrip specific developments, VRL Logistics jumped on inking MoU with Ratna Cements to transfer wind power and Nihar Info Global touches roof on securing purchase order from ONGC. The overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of advances which thumped declines in the ratio of 1861:1418; while 131 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 56909.82, up by 446.67 points or 0.79% after trading in a range of 56521.33 and 57036.26. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.81%, while Small cap index was up by 0.67%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.97%, Auto up by 1.68%, Oil & Gas up by 1.66%, TECK up by 1.42% and Healthcare was up by 1.27%, while Capital Goods down by 0.24% and Bankex was down by 0.13% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 2.56%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.54%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.35%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.34% and Reliance Industries was up by 2.29%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.96%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.14%, ICICI Bank down by 1.03%, Power Grid down by 0.88% and Larsen & Toubro was down by 0.85% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, ratings agency ICRA in its latest survey has revealed that demand for two-wheelers continues to be weak while that for passenger and commercial vehicles remains robust as compared with last year. Automobile dealership industry has been witnessing several headwinds in the recent past, including subdued demand for two-wheelers (2W), supply constraints impacting growth of passenger vehicle (PV) sales, and high base effect limiting the growth in tractors segment.

ICRA said extended work and education-from-home has impacted scooters demand, whereas undistributed rainfall affected demand for rural-centric motorcycles. However, it said retail demand for passenger vehicles remains healthy and the demand for commercial vehicles has also been improving after two years of downturn. It noted that the automobile industry has been grappling with supply constraints as semiconductor shortage has impacted vehicle production.

It further said owing to the supply side constraints, PV segment was the most affected as demand exceeded the supply. However, semiconductor availability has been improving on a sequential basis over the past few months. Supply constraints have resulted in increased waiting periods and lower inventory levels at the dealerships.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17101.65, up by 143.00 points or 0.84% after trading in a range of 16978.95 and 17137.45. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 3.10%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.55%, Asian Paints up by 2.50%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.49% and Dr. Reddy's Lab was up by 2.38%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.69%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.38%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.11%, ICICI Bank down by 0.99% and ITC was down by 0.90% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 232.76 points or 0.86% to 27,217.85, KOSPI rose 0.63 points or 0.02% to 2,719.52, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 155.48 points or 0.91% to 17,148.88 and Straits Times was up by 31.05 points or 0.94% to 3,338.18.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 41.43 points or 1.3% to 3,152.60, Jakarta Composite lost 5.58 points or 0.08% to 7,193.65 and Hang Seng was down by 47.42 points or 0.23% to 20,980.34.