Bourses enlarge gain in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets enlarged their gains in late afternoon session led by strong buying in the heavyweight firms like Reliance Industries, TCS and Maruti Suzuki. Sector wise, Petroleum & Natural Gas sector remained in focused, as crude oil production during March 2022 was 2526.11 thousand metric tonnes (TMT), which is 12.49% lower than target for the month and 3.37% lower than the production of March 2021. Traders took note that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that there is an urgent need for coordinated action across countries to not only enable swift post-pandemic recovery but also to build resilience to future shocks as she attended the G20 Emerging Market Economies meeting. Sitharaman shared her insights on the economic outlook, risks and near-term policy challenges for Emerging Market Economies (EMEs) such as food and energy security and tightening of global financial conditions.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as bond yields continued to rise and China held key interest rates for corporate and household loans steady despite COVID and Ukraine woes. European markets were trading higher as a flurry of corporate earnings reassured investors that profits can overcome economic hurdles.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57,058.72, up by 595.57 points or 1.05% after trading in a range of 56521.33 and 57216.51. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.25%, while Small cap index was up by 0.38%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 2.12%, Oil & Gas up by 1.72%, Auto up by 1.52%, TECK up by 1.41% and IT was up by 1.08%, while Metal down by 0.49%, Capital Goods down by 0.44%, Bankex down by 0.36% and PSU was down by 0.11% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 3.21%, Reliance Industries up by 3.05%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.52%, Asian Paints up by 2.51% and TCS up by 2.42%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 3.73%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.84%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.13%, ICICI Bank down by 1.08% and Tata Steel down by 1.02% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, sharing insights on the economic outlook, risks and near-term policy challenges for Emerging Market Economies (EMEs), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has expressed an urgent need for coordinated action across countries to not only enable swift post-pandemic recovery but also to build resilience to future shocks.

While explaining India’s policy approach, Sitharaman mentioned that an accommodative fiscal stance was also accompanied by major structural reforms, including the bankruptcy code and targeted help to MSME and other vulnerable sections. Besides, Sitharaman said that Monetary Authority fully supported and complemented these efforts with an accommodative stance.

Finance Minister further stated that India has been helped by good agricultural output, supported by a good monsoon during the COVID pandemic period. She said that agricultural exports, along with other exports, have also sharply increased, adding that India is entering into new economic activities which will help resolve some of the global supply chain issues.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17,123.75, up by 165.10 points or 0.97% after trading in a range of 16978.95 and 17186.90. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 3.10%, Reliance Industries up by 2.94%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.94%, Shree Cement up by 2.90% and Maruti Suzuki up by 2.50%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 3.59%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.10%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.31%, JSW Steel down by 1.17% and Tata Steel down by 1.13% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Nikkei 225 surged 232.76 points or 0.86% to 27,217.85, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 155.48 points or 0.91% to 17,148.88, Straits Times advanced 32.88 points or 0.99% to 3,340.01 and Jakarta Composite was up by 28.13 points or 0.39% to 7,227.36. On the flip side, KOSPI fell 0.20 points or 0.01% to 2,718.69, Shanghai Composite declined 42.98 points or 1.35% to 3,151.05 and Hang Seng was down by 83.09 points or 0.4% to 20,944.67.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 23.36 points or 0.31% to 7,624.64, France’s CAC increased 41.79 points or 0.64% to 6,576.58 and Germany’s DAX was up by 55.93 points or 0.4% to 14,209.39.