Bourses trade sharply higher in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets traded sharply higher in late afternoon session as investors preferred to buy fundamentally strong stocks. There were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE. Positive global markets offered support to the Indian markets. Traders took note of report that India and China discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in the civil aviation sector, including the resumption of direct flights between the two countries. Sector wise, electric vehicles sector remained in focus as Union Cabinet has approved two major schemes with a total outlay of Rs 14,335 crore to promote use of electric vehicles (EVs), including buses, ambulances and trucks. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green buoyed by a tech-fueled rally on Wall Street overnight. European markets were trading higher ahead of a European Central Bank (ECB) policy meeting later in the day. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82534.71, up by 1011.55 points or 1.24% after trading in a range of 81534.29 and 82586.53. There were 29 stocks advancing against 1 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.19%, while Small cap index was up by 0.70%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.68%, Metal up by 2.45%, Power up by 1.77%, Utilities up by 1.58% and TECK was up by 1.57%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 4.33%, NTPC up by 3.13%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.59%, JSW Steel up by 2.40% and Adani Ports up by 2.25%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 0.34% were the only losers.

Meanwhile, Union Cabinet has approved two major schemes with a total outlay of Rs 14,335 crore to promote use of electric vehicles (EVs), including buses, ambulances and trucks. The two schemes are: PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) Scheme with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore over a period of two years, and PM-eBus Sewa-Payment Security Mechanism (PSM) scheme with a budget of Rs 3,435 crore. 

The PM E-DRIVE Scheme is a major decision towards bringing down pollution. Under the scheme, subsidies/demand incentives worth Rs 3,679 crore have been provided for e-2Ws (electric two-wheelers), e-3Ws (electric three-wheelers), e-ambulances, e-trucks and other emerging EVs. The scheme will support 24.79 lakh e-2Ws, 3.16 lakh e-3Ws, and 14,028 e-buses. The ministry of heavy industries (MHI) is introducing e-vouchers for EV buyers to avail demand incentives under the scheme. At the time of purchase of the EV, the scheme portal will generate an Aadhaar-authenticated e-Voucher for the buyer.

Further, the PM E-DRIVE allocates Rs 500 crore for the deployment of e-ambulances. This is a new initiative of the central government to promote the use of e-ambulance for a comfortable patient transport. The performance and safety standards of e-ambulances will be formulated in consultation with MoHFW, MoRTH and other relevant stakeholders. Also, Rs 4,391 crore has been provided for the procurement of 14,028 e-buses by state transport undertakings and public transport agencies. The PM E-DRIVE will promote the deployment of e-trucks in the country and Rs 500 crore has been allocated for incentivising e-trucks. The scheme also addresses range anxiety of EV buyers by promoting in a big way the installation of electric vehicle public charging stations (EVPCS).

PM-eBus Sewa-Payment Security Mechanism (PSM) scheme for procurement and operation of e-buses by Public Transport Authorities (PTAs) has an outlay of Rs 3,435 crore to support the roll-out of 38,000 e-buses. This scheme will support deployment of more than 38,000 electric buses (e-Buses) from FY 2024-25 to FY 2028-29. The scheme will support the operation of e-buses for a period of up to 12 years from the date of deployment. At present, the majority of buses operated by PTAs run on diesel/CNG, causing adverse environmental impact.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25251.80, up by 333.35 points or 1.34% after trading in a range of 24941.45 and 25263.65. There were 49 stocks advancing against 1 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 4.35%, Hindalco up by 3.29%, Shriram Finance up by 3.18%, NTPC up by 2.98% and Hero MotoCorp up by 2.77%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 0.43% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 1213.5 points or 3.29% to 36,833.27, Taiwan Weighted added 622.25 points or 2.87% to 21,653.25, Hang Seng advanced 131.68 points or 0.76% to 17,240.39, KOSPI increased 58.72 points or 2.28% to 2,572.09, Jakarta Composite gained 46.36 points or 0.59% to 7,807.32 and Straits Times was up by 23.68 points or 0.67% to 3,554.85. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was down by 4.68 points or 0.17% to 2,717.12.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 58.52 points or 0.71% to 8,252.46, France’s CAC rose 44.05 points or 0.6% to 7,440.88 and Germany’s DAX was up by 199.87 points or 1.09% to 18,530.14.