The benchmark indices extended gains in mid morning trade. The Nifty was hovering above the 16,500 mark. PSU banks witnessed bargain hunting after correcting in the past two sessions.
Domestic sentiment was upbeat after Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman launched the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) on Monday. Through the NMP, the government will be listing out its infrastructure assets worth Rs 6 lakh crore to be sold over the next four years.
At 11:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 146.89 points or 0.26% to 55,702.68. The Nifty 50 index added 38.90 points or 0.24% to 16,535.35.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.60% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.69%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1528 shares rose and 1422 shares fell. A total of 123 shares were unchanged.
Foreign investors were net sellers worth Rs.1,363 crore on Monday (23 August 2021) while the domestic institutions bought Rs.1,453 crore of equities. This was largely driven by Zomato selling on completion of a 1-month lock-in period for the anchor investors on Monday.
Economy:
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman launched the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) on Monday, 23 August 2021. NMP comprises a four-year pipeline of the Central Government's brownfield infrastructure assets. Besides providing visibility to investors, NMP will also serve as a medium-term roadmap for the asset monetisation initiative of the government.
The government has planned a Rs 6 lakh crore pipeline of assets that can be monetised, which will include a range of assets put on the block for private sector participation. The government has also developed an asset monetisation dashboard for monitoring real-time progress of NMP. Policy think tank NITI Aayog has finalised the NMP of potential brownfield infrastructure assets that has been created for a four-year period from financial year 2021-22 to 2024-25.
Giving a presentation, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said, infra assets worth Rs. six lakh crore across rail, road, power sectors to be monetised over four years.
The NMP will serve as a roadmap for asset monetisation of various brownfield infrastructure assets across sectors including roads, railways, aviation, power, oil and gas, and warehousing.
Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday that foreign direct investments (FDI) into the country is on the rise, jumping to $2.1 billion in May this year. He also said the government is working on a mission mode to achieve exports target of $400 billion in 2021-22.
"India has received the highest ever FDI inflow in 2020-21. It surged by 10% to $81.72 billion and FDI during May 2021 is $12.1 billion, i.e. 203% higher than May 2020," he said while addressing a meeting of different industry associations on promoting exports.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 212,511,054 with 4,440,962 global deaths.
India reported 319,551 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 435,110 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 1.12% to 2,261.75, amid some value buying. The index declined 3.95% in the past two sessions.
Jammu and Kashmir Bank (up 1.99%), Bank Of Baroda (up 1.84%), Punjab & Sind Bank (up 1.60%), SBI (up 1.49%), Canara Bank (up 1.05%) and Central Bank of India (up 1.04%) edged higher.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Indian Hotels Co. fell 2.25% to Rs 134.75. The board of Indian Hotels Company has approved rights issue of equity shares for an amount not exceeding Rs 3,000 crore. As per the company's disclosure, the objective of the issue is to meet its financing needs for capital expenditure, growth plans and debt repayment and will be finalised in consultation with the merchant bankers.
N R Agarwal Industries declined 1.72% to Rs 300.30 after the company temporarily shut down its plant due to lack of market orders.
Global Markets:
Shares in Asia advanced across the board on Tuesday, after the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped to a record closing high following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's full approval of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reportedly began issuing new disclosure requirements to Chinese firms looking to list in New York, as part of a push to raise investor awareness of the risks involved.
Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine became the first in the U.S. on Monday to be granted full approval by the Food and Drug Administration, clearing the path for more vaccine mandates.
US stocks finished higher Monday and the Nasdaq reached an all-time closing high, led by reopening stocks as the Food and Drug Administration approved its first Covid-19 vaccine. The FDA granted full approval for the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19.
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