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Benchmarks likely to make flat-to-positive start on Tuesday

Indian markets settled at all-time highs on Monday with banking and financial stocks leading broad-based gains. Today, the markets are likely to get flat-to-positive start tracking gains in Asian peers. Traders will be taking encouragement with the commerce ministry’s data showing that growing for the second consecutive month, the country's exports rose 6.16 per cent year-on-year to $27.45 billion in January 2021 following healthy growth in pharma and engineering sectors. Trade deficit during the month narrowed to $14.54 billion from $15.3 billion in January 2020. It was $15.44 billion in December 2020. Imports in January 2021 rose 2 per cent to $42 billion. Some support will come with a private report that economic activity is on the verge of normality after getting severely hit by COVID-19 and Indian GDP will grow at 13.5 per cent in FY22. Also, India Ratings and Research in a report said the aggregate fiscal deficit of states is likely to be at 4.3 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021-22 compared to 4.6 per cent in 2020-21. The rating agency has revised the outlook on state finances to stable for FY22 from stable-to-negative. Traders may take note of report that the World Health Organization (WHO) has listed AstraZeneca and Oxford University's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, widening access to the relatively inexpensive shot in the developing world. However, there may be some cautiousness as India recorded 9,139 fresh Covid-19 cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Active cases in India stand at 138,579, while the caseload tally has risen to 10,925,311. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to address the post-Budget meeting of the RBI's central board on Tuesday and highlight key points of Union Budget 2021-22, including the fiscal consolidation roadmap. IT industry stocks will be in focus with industry lobby Nasscom’s statement that the Indian IT industry revenues are set to grow by 2.3 per cent to $194 billion in FY2020-21 and the exports will go up by 1.9 per cent to $150 billion. Banking stocks will be in limelight as RBI data showed bank credit grew 5.93 per cent to Rs 107.05 lakh crore, while deposits rose 11.06 per cent to Rs 147.98 lakh crore in the fortnight ended January 29.

The US markets remained closed on Monday on account of Washington's Birthday. Asian markets are trading higher on Tuesday. Markets in mainland China remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks ended at record closing high levels on Monday led by strong gains in banking, financial and realty stocks amid positive global cues. Besides, strong corporate earnings in the December quarter have raised hopes of a quick economic recovery. Markets made gap-up opening on the back of positive macro-economic data. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew by 1 per cent in December on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis compared with a 2 per cent decline in the previous month, the data released by the National Statistical Office showed. On the other hand, the consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation rate fell for the third consecutive month to 4.06 per cent in January as food inflation, pulled down by deflation in vegetables, drastically declined. Some support also came in as PHDCCI said expectations that the country's GDP would record growth in the third and fourth quarters of 2020-21 are getting stronger on account of various reforms undertaken by the government in the last ten months. Markets extended gains in late afternoon session, taking support from Chief Economic Adviser K V Subramanian’s statement that the reform measures announced in the Budget 2021-22 will play a big role in India becoming a $5 trillion economy and beyond. Sentiments remained up-beat with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that the government, undeterred by the COVID-19 pandemic, has been pursuing reforms for achieving sustained long-term growth in a bid to make India one of the top economies of the world in the coming decades. Market participants also took a note of India’s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) eased to 2.03% (provisional) for the month of January 2021 as compared to 3.52% during the corresponding month of the previous year. However, sequentially inflation increased from a rise of 1.22% in December 2020. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 609.83 points or 1.18% to 52,154.13, while the CNX Nifty was up by 151.40 points or 1.00% to 15,314.70.