Domestic indices maintain gains in early noon session

Domestic equity indices maintained their solid gains in early noon session as market participants indulged in enlarging their positions. Sensex and Nifty were gaining over 670 and 185 points, respectively. Hectic buying in index heavyweights Infosys and TCS helped the markets to maintain their gains. Sentiments remained upbeat as the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said the net direct tax collection so far this fiscal rose 19.41 per cent to Rs 14.70 lakh crore from the corresponding period of last year. However, broader indices underperformed their large peers with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index gaining in the range of 0.30-0.70%. On the BSE sectoral front, buying witnessed at IT, TECK, Realty, Oil & Gas and PSU counters, while selling was witnessed in Auto, Consumer Durables, Healthcare, Utilities and Power stocks. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red following muted cues from the US markets overnight. Traders were cautious after US consumer price inflation in December showed a bigger than expected increase. The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.3 percent in December after inching up by 0.1 percent in November. Street had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.2 percent. Back home, in the stock specific development, HG Infra Engineering rose after the company was declared lowest bidder by Central Railway in a project worth Rs 716 crore.  

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72394.21, up by 673.03 points or 0.94% after trading in a range of 71982.29 and 72463.99. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.34%, while Small cap index up by 0.68%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 4.94%, TECK up by 4.23%, Realty up by 2.12%, Oil & Gas up by 1.12% and PSU up by 0.69%, while Auto down by 0.58%, Consumer Durables down by 0.25%, Healthcare down by 0.24%, Utilities down by 0.23% and Power down by 0.06% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 7.63%, Wipro up by 4.44%, Tech Mahindra up by 4.25%, TCS up by 4.03% and HCL  up by 2.73%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.40%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.15%, Asian Paints down by 1.01%, Titan down by 0.85% and Power Grid down by 0.79% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal has said that India has made significant strides in the global maritime arena and the country will soon become a world leader in the key sector. He highlighted the importance of port-led industrialisation in employment generation and overall development. Port-led industrialisation is a strategic approach that aims to optimise logistic cost by strategically placing industries in close proximity to ports. On one hand, it directly contributes to an increase in port traffic, on the other it also serves as a catalyst for significant employment generation.

The minister said PM Gati Shakti Masterplan for Multimodal Connectivity and National Logistics Policy have vastly improved the logistic road map of the nation and assisted in speedy port-led industrialisation and urban development. Major ports have also undertaken an exercise of industrialising the land available with them. A total of 8,000 acres of land at major ports has been developed for industrialisation with potential to generate more than 2 lakhs direct and indirect employment opportunities.

He further said India is looking at increasing it exports 15-fold to $7.5 trillion in the next 23 years,. He said 'our aim under the maritime 'Amrit Kaal Vision 2047' is ambitious -- to boost our exports 15-fold to $7.5 trillion. We aim to enhance our port capacity to handle approximately 10,000 million tonnes annually, a six-fold increase from the current levels.'

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21835.40, up by 188.20 points or 0.87% after trading in a range of 21715.15 and 21848.20. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 7.74%, Wipro up by 4.31%, Tech Mahindra up by 4.25%, TCS up by 4.04% and ONGC up by 3.89%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 1.50%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.33%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.21%, Asian Paints down by 1.01% and Coal India down by 0.94% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 29.19 points or 0.18% to 16,272.85, Taiwan Weighted lost 32.49 points or 0.19% to 17,512.83, Straits Times fell 13.03 points or 0.41% to 3,188.38, KOSPI dropped 16.62 points or 0.66% to 2,523.65 and Shanghai Composite weakened 1.62 points or 0.06% to 2,885.03. However, Nikkei 225 surged 527.25 points or 1.48% to 35,577.11 and Jakarta Composite gained 0.77 points or 0.01% to 7,220.73.