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Indian equity indices were trading firm in afternoon trade as investors continue to build positions across the counter. The rate sensitive counters like TECK, IT and Bankex are witnessing hefty buying interest helping the markets to maintain gains. Sentiments were upbeat as the decline in crude from the recent high of $140 to below $110 and declining trends in most metal prices indicate that the feared high inflation may not materialize. Traders also remain energized India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves rose by $394 million to $631.92 billion in the week ended March 4 led by a sharp jump in foreign currency assets. The forex reserves had declined by $1.425 billion in the previous week. Traders shrugged off report stating that wholesale price-based inflation grew at 13.11 per cent in February as food prices hardened. The high rate of inflation in February, 2022 is primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, chemicals and chemical products, crude petroleum & natural gas, food articles and non-food articles etc. as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year. On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower as traders track developments in the Ukraine war and diplomatic efforts to bring the crisis to an end.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 56119.53, up by 569.23 points or 1.02% after trading in a range of 55556.47 and 56120.38. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.57%, while Small cap index was up by 0.08%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were TECK up by 1.76%, IT up by 1.75%, Bankex up by 1.55%, Telecom up by 0.60% and Capital Goods was up by 0.26%, while Realty down by 1.80%, Metal down by 1.22%, Oil & Gas down by 1.20%, Power down by 0.81% and Utilities was down by 0.72% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 3.02%, HDFC Bank up by 2.79%, ICICI Bank up by 2.47%, SBI up by 2.09% and Axis Bank was up by 1.83%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.77%, Tata Steel down by 1.06%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.96%, Power Grid down by 0.85% and Dr. Reddy's Lab was down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid heightened concerns over the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the Indian economy, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran has said that prudent budget assumptions for FY23 will ensure that the macro-fundamentals will be able to hold-up in the near-term. He said the assumptions on growth and revenue mop-up are prudent because they internalise the prevailing uncertainties. He said barring prolonged uncertainties with respect to the oil price and geopolitical developments, the macro-fundamentals should be able to withstand the near-term shocks emanating from these developments.

At a time when some analysts have already downwardly reviewed their estimates on the country's growth, Nageswaran said the impact of the on-going developments on India's GDP growth, inflation, monetary policy and currency will have to be assessed ‘depending on the duration’ of the current uncertainties and how they influence the energy prices. He said all these things are still evolving and it will be too premature to draw definitive conclusions. He said ‘we need to remain prepared, vigilant in order to address any contingency that would arise from the global developments.’

CEA further said it must be a matter of comfort to all of us that to some extent the Government of India, knowing and being aware that it is operating in an environment of extreme uncertainty either due to the pandemic or due to other factors, has been conservative in the manner in which it has prepared the budgets over the last two years. The academic-turned-policymaker said after two years of the pandemic-induced crisis, the country was looking to rev-up on the growth engine in the new fiscal, after being fortunate to have a limited impact of the third wave of the pandemic. However, tensions on the geopolitical front took over soon.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16755.55, up by 125.10 points or 0.75% after trading in a range of 16606.50 and 16763.00. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 3.12%, HDFC Bank up by 2.77%, ICICI Bank up by 2.42%, SBI up by 2.16% and Wipro was up by 1.89%. On the flip side, Indian Oil Corporation down by 2.67%, ONGC down by 2.42%, Tata Motors down by 2.31%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.78% and Coal India was down by 1.57% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly lower; Taiwan Weighted dropped 1.70 points or 0.01% to 17,263.04, Straits Times trembled 22.87 points or 0.7% to 3,226.79, Shanghai Composite declined 68.39 points or 2.07% to 3,241.36, KOSPI fell 15.63 points or 0.59% to 2,645.65 and Hang Seng was down by 891.25 points or 4.34% to 19,662.54.

On the other side, Nikkei 225 surged 145.07 points or 0.58% to 25,307.85 and Jakarta Composite was up by 31.92 points or 0.46% to 6,954.52.

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