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Indian equities added gains to continue their firm trade hovering near the highest point of the day in the afternoon session on account of buying in frontline counters. Sentiments were upbeat with report stating that India and the UAE are likely to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) on February 18, under which both the countries could give duty-free access to a number of products from different sectors. Meanwhile, Nirmala Sitharaman asserted that government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have been working in ‘completely harmony’ in relevant matters, suggesting that both are on the same page on the issue of cryptocurrencies. In an important session of trade, Sensex, is trading above 57100 level with gains of over a percent points. Similarly, widely followed index, Nifty, is hovering above 17050 bastion, with spurt of over 1 percent. Broader indices too turned positive. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower as investors contemplated the implications of a potential imminent Russian invasion on Ukraine.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57133.80, up by 727.96 points or 1.29% after trading in a range of 56438.47 and 57213.61. 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 0.78%, while Small cap index was up by 0.17%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were TECK up by 1.79%, IT up by 1.78%, Auto up by 1.68%, FMCG up by 1.49% and Consumer Discretionary was up by 1.34%, while Utilities down by 0.64%, Metal down by 0.54%, Power down by 0.29%, Oil & Gas down by 0.22% and PSU was down by 0.04% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.54%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.33%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.28%, Nestle up by 2.25% and Tech Mahindra was up by 2.22%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.68%, Power Grid down by 0.69% and ICICI Bank was down by 0.25% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, domestic rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that the real estate asset under management (AUM) of non-banks (non-banking financial companies and housing finance companies), which registered a de-growth of 10 percent in 2021, is likely to contract further by 5-10 percent in 2022 and stabilize in the next year. It noted that the real estate AUM of non-banks contracted by 17.64 percent to Rs 2.8 lakh crore as of March 2021 from Rs 3.4 lakh crore as of March 2019.

According to the report, the outlook for real estate-oriented non-banks remains negative due to the asset quality pressures over the near to medium term and the muted growth expectation. It noted that non-banks witnessed a significant slowdown in growth since H2 FY2019, following the liquidity crisis, and consequently moderated their disbursements. It said the performance of non-banks in recent years has been marred by several challenges as entities have grappled with fund-raising challenges and asset quality issues. The impact was more pronounced on wholesale financiers with sizeable real estate exposures compared to their retail counterparts owing to a prolonged period of risk aversion by investors and other stakeholders.

The agency said the real estate-oriented non-banks have witnessed an improvement in their capitalization profiles since March 2018 driven by the moderation in the AUM growth coupled with sizable capital raise in a bid to strengthen their balance sheets. It said the capital cushion for real estate-oriented non-banks is estimated to have increased by 4 percent from March 2019 to March 2021. It added that the current capitalization level also provides the ability to absorb losses.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17078.85, up by 236.05 points or 1.40% after trading in a range of 16839.25 and 17083.55. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 3.75%, Eicher Motors up by 3.65%, Shree Cement up by 3.31%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.85% and Hindustan Unilever was up by 2.47%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 2.85%, Tata Steel down by 1.62%, ONGC down by 0.93%, Indian Oil Corp. down by 0.34% and Power Grid was down by 0.32% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Hang Seng decreased 279.60 points or 1.14% to 24,276.97, Straits Times trembled 10.72 points or 0.31% to 3,410.48, Taiwan Weighted dropped 45.86 points or 0.25% to 17,951.81, KOSPI fell 32.41 points or 1.2% to 2,672.07, Nikkei 225 slipped 214.40 points or 0.79% to 26,865.19

On the other hand, Jakarta Composite soared 44.11 points or 0.65% to 6,778.60 and Shanghai Composite was up by 7.91 points or 0.23% to 3,436.79.

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