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Continuing with the momentum seen in the past week, Indian equity benchmarks settled at fresh record closing highs on Monday, on the back of strength in select metal, utilities and power stocks. Markets made positive start and stayed in green for whole day, as sentiments got boost with Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan’s statement that the Indian economy is bouncing back strongly, domestic consumption is increasing and industrial production is at pre-COVID level, he also emphasized that the reforms implemented by the government has provided fillip to the business ecosystem in the country. Additional optimism also came as Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stating that the Indian government remains committed to bring the economy on the path of fiscal consolidation in the near-to-medium term, setting the target to reduce fiscal deficit to 4.5 per cent by 2025-26.  

Markets continued to trade firm in afternoon session, taking support from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) report in which it has described the Indian government's response to the COVID-19 situation as 'swift and substantial', adding that the country continued with labour reforms and privatization despite the pandemic. Some support also came after RBI data stated that the country's foreign exchange reserves rose by $2.039 billion to 639.516 billion in the week ended October, 8. Market participants paid no heed towards report stated that the sharp economic recovery and rising demand post the second wave of Covid coupled with a spike in global oil prices may pose a challenge for the government in FY22 to maintain fiscal discipline amid good growth in tax revenue.  Traders overlooked data released by the government showed India's merchandise trade deficit widened to a record $22.6 billion in September, the highest in at least about 14 years, as crude oil and gold imports surged. 

On the global front, Asian Markets ended mostly in red, while European markets were trading lower, after data showed the Chinese economy and factory output slowed faster than expected. Inflation concerns and uncertainty over the fate of heavily indebted property firm China Evergrande Group also kept underlying sentiment cautious. Back home, on the sectoral front, power stocks were buzzing as power ministry data showed that India's power consumption grew 3.35 per cent in the first half of October to 57.22 billion units (BU), showing recovery amid coal shortage at electricity generation plants. Stocks related to Aviation industry were limelight as the Ministry of Civil Aviation allowed airlines to operate at 100 percent capacity. Diamond industry’s stocks too were in action as the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said gems and jewellery exports rose by 29.67 percent to Rs 23,259.55 crore in September 2021 compared to Rs 17,936.86 crore in the year-ago month.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 459.64 points or 0.75% to 61,765.59 and the CNX Nifty was up by 138.50 points or 0.76% to 18,477.05.       

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 61,963.07 and 61,624.65, respectively and there were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.         

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.95%, while Small cap index up by 0.69%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 4.31%, Utilities up by 2.82%, Power up by 2.60%, Basic Materials up by 2.16% and PSU up by 2.01%, while Healthcare down by 0.81%, Telecom down by 0.63% and Consumer Discretionary down by 0.39% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 4.47%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.36%, Tata Steel up by 2.73%, ICICI Bank up by 2.48% and ITC up by 2.30%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 2.36%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.24%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.73%, Asian Paints down by 1.66% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over the growth of India’s economy, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan has said that the economy is bouncing back strongly, domestic consumption is increasing and industrial production is at pre-COVID level. He also emphasized that the reforms implemented by the government has provided fillip to the business ecosystem in the country. He said the Narendra Modi government has undertaken ‘far-reaching’ structural reforms, making use of the mantra of ‘Reform, Perform and Transform’. He added ‘These reforms range from digital transactions to banking reforms, to combating corruption, controlling inflation. Now more than 90% of the FDI approvals have been put on the automatic approval route. We are promoting an ecosystem of creativity and innovation in every field’.

Muraleedharan said the reforms being undertaken by the government provides fillip to the business ecosystem in India and the diaspora could play a significant role in the process by roping in more investments and bringing in technology and skills into the country. He said ‘We firmly believe that with the improving ecosystem and better engagement with the diaspora, new ideas will germinate in the country’. He also said ‘It is evidently clear that the economy is bouncing back strongly. Domestic consumption is increasing and industrial production is at pre-COVID levels’.

The minister noted that to provide further fillip to the manufacturing sector, the government has approved production linked incentive schemes in 10 key sectors to give a boost to the economy affected by the COVID19 pandemic. Muraleedharan also lauded the work being done by Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) and Jaipur Foot USA. He said ‘The organisation’s transformative service to the underprivileged free of cost deserves special mention’. The minister added that Jaipur Foot camps have helped change lives of many people not only in India but across the globe from Asia to Africa to Latin America.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 18,543.15 and 18,445.30 and there were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.  

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 5.24%, Infosys up by 4.79%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.65%, JSW Steel up by 3.32% and Tata Motors up by 2.45%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.21%, HCL Technologies down by 2.10%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.82%, Asian Paints down by 1.69% and Britannia Industries down by 1.36% were the top losers.
 
European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 18.18 points or 0.25% to 7,215.85, France’s CAC fell 54.92 points or 0.82% to 6,672.60 and Germany’s DAX was down by 76.71 points or 0.49% to 15,510.65.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Monday on worries over inflation and disappointing Chinese growth data, while uncertainty over the fate of heavily indebted Chinese property company Evergrande Group also kept the market sentiments cautious. Data showed China's economic growth in the third quarter expanded 4.9 percent year-on-year, missed forecasts for 5.2 percent and down sharply from 7.9 percent in the three months prior. Meanwhile, Chinese industrial production gained an annual 3.1 percent in September, missing forecasts for 4.5 percent and slowing from 5.1 percent in August. Japanese shares declined as investors booked profits following a recent rally. Shares of Japanese automakers advanced after Toyota Motor cut its planned global output for November by as much as 15% due to ongoing chip shortages but sticking to its latest full-year production target.

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