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Indian equity benchmarks managed to end the Thursday’s session tad above their neutral lines as traders took support from firm earnings reports from top Indian companies. Markets started the session on optimistic note as traders took some support with report that the Finance Ministry has waived permissions required from any government departments for customs clearance of COVID-related relief material imported by the Indian Red Cross Society. However, markets soon shaved off all of their gains to enter into red terrain as traders turned cautious amid report that India reported a massive surge of 379,459 cases and 3,647 deaths, thus marking the biggest single-day spike ever, Worldometer showed. Also, there was some cautiousness with ICRA’s report that the ongoing second wave of COVID-19 will dampen the pace of recovery for corporate India and the contact-intensive sectors will be hit the most. 

Also, traders remain concerned after domestic rating agency -- Icra in its latest report has said the ongoing second wave of COVID-19 will dampen the pace of recovery for corporate India and the contact-intensive sectors will be hit the most. However, it stated the impact of the second wave on many sectors is set to be lower than the first because the lockdowns are less widespread and stringent as of now as against the strong nationwide lockdown last year which brought all economic activities to a grinding halt. Markets traded cautiously throughout the day but in green as traders took note of report that the Reserve Bank announced the launch of the latest round of households' surveys to capture inflation expectations and consumer confidence, which provides useful inputs for its monetary policy. The central bank has been regularly conducting these surveys.

Positive opening in European counters too aided some support to the domestic markets as most of the European markets were trading in green as markets react to the US Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates near zero and digest a fresh round of corporate earnings. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday, after the Asian Development Bank forecast developing Asia to rebound this year although the renewed outbreak of the coronavirus poses threat to the recovery. According to the latest Asian Development Outlook 2021, released Wednesday, economic growth in developing Asia will rebound to 7.3 percent this year from -0.2 percent last year, underpinned by global recovery and early progress in vaccination. However, growth will moderate to 5.3 percent in 2022.

Back home, India has imposed anti-dumping duty on imports of a chemical used in foam making from four regions, including the EU and Saudi Arabia, for five years. The duty was imposed following recommendation of the commerce ministry’s investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), which conducted a probe into alleged dumping of ‘Toluene Di-Isocynate’ from the EU, Saudi Arabia, Chinese Taipei and the UAE. On the sectoral front, auto industry stocks remained in focus as the NITI Aayog recommended the government provide subsidy for electric vehicle purchase over and above the existing subsidy scheme for electric vehicle adoption under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing the Electric Vehicles scheme besides including EVs under priority lending sector.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 32.10 points or 0.06% to 49,765.94, while the CNX Nifty was up by 30.35 points or 0.20% to 14,894.90.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 50,375.77 and 49,535.98 respectively and there 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE Mid cap index shed 0.18%, however Small cap index was up by 0.13%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 5.23%, Basic Materials up by 2.36%, Energy up by 0.94%, Oil & Gas up by 0.33% and Healthcare up by 0.15%, while Auto down by 1.09%, Telecom down by 1.00%, Consumer Discretionary Goods & Services down by 0.59%, Capital Goods down by 0.53% and Consumer Durables down by 0.49% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 6.60%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.89%, Axis Bank up by 1.65%, Reliance Industries up by 1.36% and Indusind Bank up by 1.29%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 1.76%, HCL Tech down by 1.52%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.44%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.20% and SBI down by 1.11% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, domestic rating agency -- Icra in its latest report has said the ongoing second wave of COVID-19 will dampen the pace of recovery for corporate India and the contact-intensive sectors will be hit the most. However, it stated the impact of the second wave on many sectors is set to be lower than the first because the lockdowns are less widespread and stringent as of now as against the strong nationwide lockdown last year which brought all economic activities to a grinding halt.

The country has been reporting alarmingly high cases of infections at over 3 lakh additions and 2,000 fatalities a day, for the last few days. Allegations of under-reporting by some states are also rampant, and the country has had to depend on major world powers for help. The rating agency said it expects only 4 per cent of its rated portfolio to be severely impacted as a result of the second wave as against 17 per cent in the first wave last year.

The agency marked aviation, hotels, restaurants and tourism, media and entertainment-exhibitors, microfinance institutions, retail real estate, and retail to be at high risk from the second pandemic wave. The entities in the riskier categories are likely to continue to face negative rating pressures compared to the average for the entire ICRA portfolio, as seen in the last fiscal.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 15,044.35 and 14,814.45 and there were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 9.64%, Bajaj Finserv up by 6.55%, Tata Steel up by 6.17%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.86% and Hindalco up by 2.63%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 2.31%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.26%, HCL Tech down by 1.54%, HDFC down by 1.48% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.37% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in green, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 47.10 points or 0.68% to 7,010.77 and France’s CAC was up by 37.31 points or 0.59% to 6,344.29. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX was down by 29.99 points or 0.2% to 15,262.19.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday due to US Federal Reserve's soothing comments on inflation, interest rates and economic outlook. US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said it is not time yet to start talking about slowing the pace of the central bank's asset purchase program despite a strengthening economic recovery. Chinese shares ended higher due to upbeat first-quarter earnings from many heavyweight companies in the financial sector, while US President Jeo Biden said he told Chinese President Xi that the United States welcomes competition and is not looking for conflict. Meanwhile, Japanese market was closed for Showa Day.

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