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Equity benchmarks trade modestly higher

Key benchmark indices continued to trade in positive territory in the afternoon session with both Sensex and Nifty were trading up by 54 and 26 points, respectively. Sentiments remained positive as DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey stated that the new PSE policy announced by the government has opened a host of opportunities for the private players who now partake in India's growth story by buying the brownfield assets of public sector enterprises at an attractive valuation. Traders took note of report that salaries in India are projected to rise by an average of 6.4 per cent in 2021, marginally higher than the average actual increase of 5.9 per cent in 2020. As per the survey, on average, 20.6 per cent of the salary increase budget is being allocated to top performers, which represent 10.3 per cent of the employees in India.

Global cues showed mostly firming trend at other Asian bourses as investors digested recent meaty gains, while bulls were sustained by the promise of endless free money after a benign reading on US inflation and a dovish Federal Reserve outlook. Back on street, among blue chip stocks, Reliance Industries was top gainer up by 2.47%, while Titan Company was top loser trading down by 3.17%.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 51363.46, up by 54.07 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 51157.31 and 51519.91. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.47%, while Small cap index was up by 0.90%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.90%, Telecom up by 1.62%, Oil & Gas up by 0.92%, Utilities up by 0.86% and Basic Materials was up by 0.80%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.96%, Capital Goods down by 0.64%, IT down by 0.37%, PSU down by 0.26%, Industrials was down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 2.47%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.68%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.63%, Power Grid up by 1.47% and Sun Pharma was up by 1.14%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 3.17%, NTPC down by 2.56%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.24%, HDFC down by 0.81% and ITC was down by 0.79% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC India) has said that India’s engineering exports have increased by 18.69 percent in January 2021 and demand for such products in the international markets is expected to be steady in the remaining two months of the current fiscal.

An industry body has stated that shipments for January 2021 have gone up to $7,174.43 million from $6,011.43 million in the same month last fiscal, raising the prospects for February and March. The government has extended a helping hand to engineering exporters in the Union budget by taking measures aimed at reining in prices of steel, the key raw material. Exporters have navigated the post-COVID global market with innovative offerings to their buyers.

According to an assessment by the EEPC India, a recovery in the external demand has been witnessed in the past few months in markets of the US and Europe, besides several key Asian economies. Engineering exporters had faced headwinds even in December for high steel prices. Market diversification, helped by the PLI scheme, would go a long way in scaling up the engineering exports which contribute about 25 percent of the country's total merchandise export basket.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15133.15, up by 26.65 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 15065.40 and 15167.70. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 3.63%, GAIL India up by 2.77%, Reliance Industries up by 2.66%, Sun Pharma up by 1.98% and Bajaj Finance was up by 1.80%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 3.08%, Eicher Motors down by 2.87%, NTPC down by 2.60%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.28% and Infosys was down by 0.83% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng increased 134.85 points or 0.45% to 30,173.57 and Jakarta Composite soared 4.03 points or 0.06% to 6,205.86. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 0.36 points or 0.01% to 2,925.48.

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