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Indian stock markets continued to trade in positive terrain in the afternoon session due to buying in realty, oil and gas and metal stocks. Buying in frontline stocks such as ONGC, Larsen & Toubro and Indusind Bank were aiding sentiment, while selling in Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints and HDFC Bank kept the gains in the markets in check. Traders took some solace with domestic rating agency Icra stating that the monthly collections, including overdues in its rated retail loan pools originated largely by NBFCs and HFCs, have reached pre-moratorium levels as of December 2020. However, it said for its rated microfinance players, collections are yet to reach the pre-moratorium levels. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as rising commodity prices boosted market expectations of an improved growth outlook, a day after rising U.S. Treasury yields and inflation prospects hit U.S. tech shares.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49937.37, up by 193.05 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 49659.85 and 50327.31. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.03%, while Small cap index was up by 0.62%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 3.16%, Oil & Gas up by 2.64%, Metal up by 2.55%, Capital Goods up by 2.09% and Energy was up by 1.87%, while Bankex was down by 0.31% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 7.20%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.55%, Indusind Bank up by 2.25%, NTPC up by 1.96% and Sun Pharma was up by 1.89%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.23%, Asian Paints down by 1.47%, HDFC Bank down by 1.21%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.19% and HDFC was down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, pitching for a status quo on rates at the last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has opined that the growth momentum needs to be strengthened for a sustained revival of the economy and for a quick return of the level of output to the pre-COVID trajectory.

Das said growth, although uneven, is recovering and gathering momentum, and the outlook has improved significantly with the rollout of the vaccine programme in the country. Given the sharp moderation in inflation along with a stable near-term outlook, He said the monetary policy needs to continue with the accommodative stance to ensure that the recovery gains greater traction and becomes broad-based.

All the six members of the MPC had voted for keeping the policy repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent at the three-day meeting which began on February 3, citing similar reasons. The MPC, headed by the RBI Governor, also decided to continue with the accommodative stance as long as necessary.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14747.20, up by 71.50 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 14651.85 and 14854.50. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 7.20%, Tata Motors up by 4.40%, Hindalco up by 4.08%, GAIL India up by 3.50% and BPCL was up by 3.48%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.29%, Asian Paints down by 1.53%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.21%, Adani Ports down by 1.12% and HDFC Bank was down by 1.11% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted strengthened 33.24 points or 0.20% to 16,443.40, Jakarta Composite soared 4.67 points or 0.07% to 6,259.98, Straits Times advanced 21.25 points or 0.74% to 2,902.66, and Hang Seng was up by 338.08 points or 1.12% to 30,657.91.

On the other side; KOSPI falls 9.66 points or 0.31% to 3,070.09 and Shanghai Composite was down by 3.74 points or 0.10% to 3,636.88.

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