Domestic equity indices extend gains in morning deals

Domestic equity indices extended their gains and were trading higher by over quarter a percent in morning deals as market participants indulged in enlarging their positions. Sentiments got boost as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said India and China will contribute more than 50 per cent of the global growth in the upcoming year due to fading supply-chain disruptions and the boom in the service sector. Asia will be a major driver of global growth, with other countries, apart from China and India, contributing another 25 per cent.  On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in Capital Goods, Power, Industrials, Metal and Utilities, while selling was witnessed in Realty, Consumer Durables, IT, TECK and Energy.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as investors reacted to weak purchasing manager index report from Japan. However, the Shanghai Composite index traded marginally higher on optimism around post-COVID economic recovery. Back home, in stock specific development, Marine Electricals surged after the company bagged an order worth Rs 13.9 crore from Goa Shipyard.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60921.96, up by 230.42 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 60655.78 and 60976.59. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.36%, while Small cap index up by 0.05%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.18%, Power up by 0.93%, Industrials up by 0.87%, Metal up by 0.84% and Utilities up by 0.60%, while Realty down by 0.25%, Consumer Durables down by 0.17%, IT down by 0.11%, TECK down by 0.08% and Energy down by 0.06% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 2.50%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.43%, Tata Steel up by 1.29%, HDFC up by 1.24% and HDFC Bank up by 1.13%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 0.79%, Wipro down by 0.54%, Axis Bank down by 0.29%, HCL down by 0.24% and Sun Pharma down by 0.23% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the government is taking a lot of steps to control inflation and will continue to focus on it. She stated ‘We have taken a lot of steps, for example, encouraging farmers to sow pulses so that the production of pulses in India increases in the coming sowing season.’

Further, she said that as a short-term step, ‘wherever we are importing, whether Masoor, Moong or whatever pulses, the government has reduced the import duty to single digit or has completely removed it. It has made imports convenient and pulses are available quickly and cheaply in India.’

She mentioned said the import of edible oil has been made almost free (tax) for the last three consecutive years, due to which palm crude or palm refined oil has also been (route) opened so that the supply of edible oil is easy and sufficient. The wholesale price-based inflation declined to a 2-year low of 4.73 per cent in January on easing prices of manufactured items, fuel and power, even though food articles turned expensive.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17900.30, up by 55.70 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 17837.95 and 17924.90. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 2.41%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.66%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.58%, JSW Steel up by 1.32% and HDFC up by 1.21%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 0.63%, Asian Paints down by 0.62%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.54%, HCL down by 0.35% and Titan down by 0.33% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 8.33 points or 0.05% to 15,542.90, Hang Seng declined 207.23 points or 1% to 20,679.73, Jakarta Composite plunged 6.51 points or 0.09% to 6,888.21, Straits Times fell 3.19 points or 0.1% to 3,305.56 and Nikkei 225 slipped 50.85 points or 0.18% to 27,481.09. However, Shanghai Composite strengthened 3.37 points or 0.1% to 3,293.71 and KOSPI increased 3.53 points or 0.14% to 2,458.65.