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Indian equity indices were trading at day’s high point on the back broad based buying in frontline blue chip counters by fund and retail investor amid positive global cues. The rally in domestic equities was triggered by positive reaction to the latest batch of earnings reports from several big-name companies in US, which indicated that the world's biggest economy is on the path of recovery. Furthermore, appreciating rupee against dollar, too supports sentiments. Indian rupee appreciated 25 paise to 74.36 against the US dollar at this point of time as exporters and banks stepped up selling of the American currency. Traders shrugged off rating agency Crisil Ratings report stating that the collection ratios in securitised pools have seen a dip during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The agency said unlike in the first wave, the decline in the second wave has not been as sharp for two reasons - localised restrictions limited the impact on business activity, and lack of moratorium from lenders meant that borrowers could not postpone their debt repayments. Meanwhile, Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, recently announced that the delta variant is no longer of concern because it now comprises 98 per cent of new cases in the country and is therefore ‘the normal variant’.

On the global front, all Asian markets were trading higher as optimism about an economic recovery appeared to outweigh concern over rising coronavirus cases and inflation. Back home, in scrip specific developments ITC was in focus as government is considering selling its 7.93% stake in ITC, the nation’s top cigarette maker, to meet its disinvestment target for the year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 52842.89, up by 644.38 points or 1.23% after trading in a range of 52471.23 and 52864.82. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.86%, while Small cap index was up by 1.48%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.74%, Realty up by 2.27%, Consumer Durables up by 1.81%, IT up by 1.57% and Basic Materials was up by 1.49%, while Power down by 0.68% and Utilities was down by 0.26% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 4.75%, Tech Mahindra up by 4.05%, Tata Steel up by 3.13%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.93% and ICICI Bank was up by 2.46%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.31%, Nestle down by 0.38% and Power Grid was down by 0.17% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has sought Parliament nod to spend a net additional Rs 23,675 crore, including Rs 17,000 crore for the health ministry, in the current financial year. As per the first batch of supplementary demands for grants tabled in the Lok Sabha by Sitharaman, although the gross additional expenditure is over Rs 1.87 trillion in 2021-22, the actual cash outgo will only be Rs 23,674.81 crore as the remaining spending will be met through savings and higher receipts and recoveries.

A substantial chunk of the total gross spending is towards transfer to states for shortfall in goods and services tax compensation cess. Rs 1.59 trillion would be transferred to states as back-to-back loan in lieu of the GST compensation shortfall. However, this will not entail any cash outgo. The supplementary demands for grants said ‘As the back-to-back loan are to be met from equivalent capital receipts, the ... expenditure will not entail any additional cash outgo’.

To meet the various COVID-related and other health preparedness, Rs 16,463 crore extra spending has been earmarked for the department of health and family welfare. An extra Rs 526 crore has been given to the department of health research for emergency epidemic preparedness and response. Approval for Rs 2,050 crore for Ministry of Civil Aviation is being sought, which includes Rs 1,872 crore towards loans and advances to Air India for recoupment of advance from Contingency Fund of India. The cash outgo also includes Rs 1,100 crore for Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution towards providing assistance to sugar mills for 2019-20 sugar season.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15813.80, up by 181.70 points or 1.16% after trading in a range of 15726.40 and 15825.90. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 4.40%, Tech Mahindra up by 4.11%, JSW Steel up by 3.44%, Tata Steel up by 2.90% and Bajaj Finserv was up by 2.81%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.42%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.69%, Eicher Motors down by 0.54%, Cipla down by 0.49% and Nestle was down by 0.48% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher, KOSPI rose 34.30 points or 1.07% to 3,250.21, Shanghai Composite gained 11.68 points or 0.33% to 3,574.34, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 113.54 points or 0.65% to 17,572.33, Nikkei 225 surged 159.84 points or 0.58% to 27,548.00, Hang Seng increased 412.98 points or 1.52% to 27,637.56, Jakarta Composite soared 82.30 points or 1.36% to 6,112.28 and Straits Times was up by 38.96 points or 1.25% to 3,157.96.

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