Benchmarks remain in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green in morning deals, led by gains in Realty, Power and Utilities stocks amid positive global cues. Sentiments remained positive as industry body -- the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) said that the country can scale up its merchandise exports to G20 nations to $500 billion by 2030 from the current $212 billion in 2021-22 and significantly reduce trade deficit. Traders also took a note of report that India and the United Kingdom (UK) have decided to iron out the differences while keeping both nations’ sensitivities in mind, and agreed to conclude the negotiations towards a free trade agreement (FTA) at the earliest. Besides, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 619.92 crore on December 13, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green as data showing a tamer-than-expected increase in U.S. consumer prices helped ease concerns about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the US Fed's rate decision later in the day. Back home, fertilizer industry stocks remained in watch with report that urea production stood at 187.21 lakh tonnes during April-November period of this fiscal, while imports were at 46.14 lakh tonnes to meet domestic demand.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62729.51, up by 196.21 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 62674.18 and 62835.11. There were 22 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.45%, while Small cap index was up by 0.47%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.22%, Power up by 0.99%, Utilities up by 0.99%, PSU up by 0.82% and IT up by 0.77%, while Telecom down by 0.38% and FMCG down by 0.08% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 1.95%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.64%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.18%, SBI up by 1.05% and Wipro up by 0.98%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 0.92%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.78%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.39%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.32% and Reliance Industries down by 0.26% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that banks have written off bad loans worth Rs 10,09,511 crore during the last five financial years. She mentioned ‘Banks write off NPAs as part of their regular exercise to clean up their balance sheet, avail tax benefit and optimise capital, in accordance with RBI guidelines and policy approved by their boards. As per inputs received from RBI, Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) wrote off an amount of Rs 10,09,511 crore during the last five financial years.’

She stated as borrowers of written-off loans continue to be liable for repayment and the process of recovery of dues from the borrower in written-off loan accounts continues, write-off does not benefit the borrower. Banks continue to pursue recovery actions initiated in written-off accounts through various recovery mechanisms available, such as filing of a suit in civil courts or in Debts Recovery Tribunals, filing of cases under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 and through sale of non-performing assets.

Further, she stated SCBs have recovered an aggregate amount of Rs 6,59,596 crore, including recovery of Rs 1,32,036 crore from written-off loan accounts during the last five financial years. Moreover, she said in cases where it is prima facie found that officials are responsible for the lapses of non-compliance with the laid down systems and procedures or misconduct or non-adherence to the due-diligence norms, action is initiated against the erring officials under the board-approved staff accountability policy.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18668.45, up by 60.45 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 18651.65 and 18696.10. There were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 2.16%, Eicher Motors up by 1.83%, Hindalco up by 1.69%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.62% and ONGC up by 1.56%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.05%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.85%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.35%, Reliance Industries down by 0.26% and Asian Paints down by 0.24% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted strengthened 200.19 points or 1.38% to 14,723.15, Nikkei 225 surged 214.76 points or 0.77% to 28,169.61, Straits Times advanced 9.50 points or 0.29% to 3,280.78, Shanghai Composite gained 4.26 points or 0.13% to 3,180.59, KOSPI rose 22.27 points or 0.94% to 2,394.67 and Hang Seng increased 134.28 points or 0.69% to 19,730.48.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite lost 26.76 points or 0.39% to 6,783.56.