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Indian equity markets were trading in fine fettle with Sensex and Nifty crossing 48,500 and 14,500 levels in the afternoon session due to heavy buying in banking, metal and realty stocks. Gains in frontline blue chip stocks such as ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Ultratech Cement also helped lift the markets. Traders remain energized as the Finance Ministry relaxed the spending guidelines to enable ministries and departments to undertake capital expenditure totalling Rs 44,000 crore envisaged in the budget for 2021-22, to boost the economy grappling with the fresh COVID-19 wave. Additional support also came as RBI’s data stated that the foreign exchange reserves rose by $1.193 billion to reach $582.406 billion in the week ended April 16. In the previous week ended April 9, the forex kitty had surged by $4.344 billion to $581.213 billion.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as traders their attention to the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting and earning from corporate giants. Back on street, the overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of advances which thumped declines in the ratio of 1898:937; while 200 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 48518.16, up by 639.71 points or 1.34% after trading in a range of 48152.24 and 48667.98. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.89%, while Small cap index was up by 1.01%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 2.67%, Metal up by 2.57%, Realty up by 2.54%, Basic Materials up by 2.23% and Energy was up by 1.71%, while Healthcare was down by 0.20% was the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 5.25%, Axis Bank up by 3.76%, Ultratech Cement up by 3.69%, SBI up by 3.02% and Bajaj Finance was up by 2.42%. On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 2.36%, NTPC down by 1.37%, Sun Pharma down by 0.61% and Tech Mahindra was down by 0.27% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has stated that the second wave of COVID-19 could pose downside risks to the domestic auto industry demand in the near term. The demand for commercial vehicles (CVs) may revive in the second quarter of 2021-22 as economic activities improve, and also due to the lower capacity in the system after consecutive double-digit decline in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Demand for CVs, particularly medium and heavy CVs, is likely to also benefit from various government initiatives to help revive the economy. However, the revival of the passenger carrier segment is still some time away.

The domestic automobile industry's sales volume declined 14 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in the last fiscal year with passenger and commercial vehicle segments sale falling 2 per cent and 21 per cent respectively, while the two-wheelers volume fell 13 per cent (Y-o-Y). The decline in sales volume is in line with Ind-Ra's estimate of 14 -18 per cent decline for the year. For 2020-21, the total retail sales volume fell 34 per cent Y-o-Y led by 17 per cent drop in passenger vehicle (PV) sales, 51 per cent fall in CV sales and 34 per cent drop in two-wheeler (2W) retail registrations, respectively. Amid lower discretionary purchases by consumers, PVs remained the saving grace for the domestic retail market.

The report said however, retail PV sales volumes grew 28 per cent in March 2021 over the year-ago period while other segments such as CVs, 3Ws, and 2Ws tell a rather grim story as retail sales declined 42 per cent, 51 per cent and 35 per cent Y-o-Y, respectively last month. The double-digit decline in retail sales across segments, except PVs, in March 2021 indicates that consumer sentiment has not fully recovered, it said, adding Ind-Ra believes that the second wave of COVID-19 could pose downside risks to the domestic auto industry demand in the near term.

According to the report, the domestic auto industry recorded positive growth for the eighth consecutive month in March 2021. PV and 2W sales volumes were up 115 per cent and 73 per cent Y-o-Y, respectively in March 2021, aided mainly by the low base of March 2020. Export volumes also continued the growth trend in March 2021, up 57 per cent from March 2020, boosted by 63 per cent Y-o-Y growth in 2W exports. For 2020-21, the total export volumes declined 13 per cent Y-o-Y with PV, CV, and 2W exports volume falling 39 per cent, 17 per cent, and 7 per cent Y-o-Y, respectively. The PV segment has benefitted the most from the preference for personal mobility, resulting in the lowest decline among segments; also lower than Ind-Ra's expectation of a 5-8 per cent decline for 2020-21.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14504.20, up by 162.85 points or 1.14% after trading in a range of 14421.30 and 14557.50. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ICICI Bank up by 5.00%, Axis Bank up by 3.46%, Ultratech Cement up by 3.45%, SBI up by 2.78% and JSW Steel was up by 2.76%. On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 2.52%, Britannia Industries down by 2.47%, Cipla down by 2.24%, NTPC down by 1.02% and Sun Pharma was down by 0.85% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; KOSPI rose 31.43 points or 0.99% to 3,217.53, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 272.02 points or 1.57% to 17,572.29, Straits Times advanced 9.00 points or 0.28% to 3,203.04 and Nikkei 225 was up by 105.60 points or 0.36% to 29,126.23.

On the other hand, Hang Seng decreased 57.53 points or 0.2% to 29,021.22, Jakarta Composite lost 28.93 points or 0.48% to 5,987.93 and Shanghai Composite was down by 20.67 points or 0.59% to 3,453.50.

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