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Benchmarks trade higher in early deals
Jan-20-2021

Indian equity benchmarks made slightly positive start on Wednesday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. Markets are trading higher with notable gains in early deals supported by buying in IT, TECK and Auto stocks. However, selling in Utilities, Power and Energy stocks kept upside in check. Some support came in as investment through participatory notes (P-notes) in the domestic capital market rose to a 31-month high of Rs 87,132 crore at December-end, reflecting the bullish stance of FPIs. Traders took note of NITI Aayog member, Dr VK Paul said that concerns related to health issues post-vaccination were 'insignificant, unfounded, and negligible. He said, as per the data seen so far, the vaccines are safe and this is a reassuring situation. Though, gains remained limited as India recorded 13,700 fresh cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The caseload tally stands at 10,596,442. Globally, 96.6 million people have been infected by the virus. The country continues to be second-most-affected globally, and ranks 13th among worst-hit nations by active cases, according to data from Worldometer.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors remained optimistic about additional stimulus and a faster rollout of coronavirus vaccines under incoming U.S. President Joe Biden, who will be sworn into office later today. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen has also called for additional stimulus to address the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. However, worries about the rising number of coronavirus cases and the daily death toll in Japan weighed on the market.

Back home, in scrip specific developments, CSB Bank declined despite reporting an 88 percent jump in December quarter net profit. Tata Communications slumped amid report that the government will sell its entire 26.12 percent stake in the company through offer for sale and strategic sale route in the current fiscal. However, Ceat rallied on posting around three-fold jump in quarterly net profit.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49529.44, up by 131.15 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 49373.68 and 49595.64. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.39%, while Small cap index was up by 0.37%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.81%, TECK up by 1.49%, Auto up by 0.75%, Industrials up by 0.55%, Consumer discretionary up by 0.54%, while Utilities down by 0.48%, Power down by 0.44%, Energy down by 0.37%, Oil & Gas down by 0.33%, Telecom down by 0.28% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 2.37%, HCL Technologies up by 2.04%, Infosys up by 1.82%, TCS up by 1.58% and SBI up by 0.99%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 0.88%, Indusind Bank down by 0.73%, NTPC down by 0.70%, ITC down by 0.69% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.65% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said that India must remain an integral part of the global economy if it has to grow at 9-10 per cent over the next three decades. He said India needs to become a major global exporting nation, without that it will not be possible to become richer and create wealth for its people over the next three decades. He added that if India has to grow at 9-10 per cent over a three-decade period, it must be open, it must be an integral part of the global economy. He also said it must be an integral part of the global supply chain.

Kant further pointed out that the government's Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative is not about protectionism, it is about making India part of the global supply chain. According to him, post-COVID-19 pandemic, only those countries will grow who will use digital ecosystem. He said ‘post- pandemic global supply chain will be restructured, and you can be only competitive if you can use the power of technology’. Noting that India's digital divide is narrowing down, Kant said if you look at the huge growth in Unified Payments Interface (UPI), it has grown manifold.

On the production-linked incentive (PLI) plan, the Niti Aayog CEO said the scheme in electronics and mobile manufacturing has received very good response. He said like mobile and electronic manufacturing, the PLI scheme for battery manufacturing will give a much-needed fillip to country's manufacturing, and added that India needs to get into sunrise areas of growth. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has democratised access to financial services. Kant also pointed out that India is the vaccine capital of the world, as the country makes 70 per cent of the world's vaccine.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14561.55, up by 40.40 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 14517.55 and 14587.10. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 3.11%, Wipro up by 2.98%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.37%, HCL Technologies up by 1.97% and Infosys up by 1.90%. On the flip side, UPL down by 1.26%, Shree Cement down by 1.25%, GAIL India down by 1.15%, Grasim Industries down by 1.04% and NTPC down by 1.00% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng rose 88.72 points or 0.30% to 29,731.00, KOSPI added 0.70 points or 0.02% to 3,093.36, Jakarta Composite surged 81.18 points or 1.28% to 6,403.04 and Shanghai Composite was up by 0.29 points or 0.01% to 3,566.67. On the other hand, Nikkei declined 190.46 points or 0.67% to 28,443.00, Straits Times lost 7.92 points or 0.26% to 2,988.00 and Taiwan Weighted fell 47.78 points or 0.30% to 15,829.59.
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