At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 29.42 points or 0.06% at 49,538.51. The Nifty 50 index gained 27.5 points or 0.19% at 14,718.25.
In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.43% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.27%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1876 shares rose and 673 shares fell. A total of 131 shares were unchanged.
No Change in Small Savings Scheme:
The government on Thursday decided to withdraw the rate cut order on the small saving schemes. Finance Minister said interest rates on small savings schemes will continue to be at the levels as in March 2021.
Interest rates of small savings schemes of GoI shall continue to be at the rates which existed in the last quarter of 2020-2021, ie, rates that prevailed as of March 2021. Orders issued by oversight shall be withdrawn, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a tweet early Thursday morning.
The government on Wednesday had announced the new interest rates on post office small savings schemes for the three months ending 30 June 2021. The rates notified for the April to June 2021 quarter were 40 basis points (0.4%) to 110 basis points (1.1%) lower on various instruments including PPF, Senior citizen savings scheme, monthly income account scheme, etc.
Economy:
India's current account balance recorded a deficit of $1.7 billion (0.2% of GDP) in Q3 FY2021 after a surplus of $15.1 billion (2.4% of GDP) in Q2FY2021 and $19.0 billion (3.7% of GDP) in Q1FY2021; a deficit of $2.6 billion (0.4% of GDP) was recorded a year ago. Underlying the current account deficit in Q3FY2021 was a rise in the merchandise trade deficit to $34.5 billion from $14.8 billion in the preceding quarter, and an increase in net investment income payments.
The combined Index of Eight Core Industries stood at 127.8 in February,2021, which declined by 4.6% as compared to the Index of February, 2020. All sectors reported decline in output during the month under review. Its cumulative growth during April to February, 2020-21 has been (-) 8.3%.
Meanwhile, World Bank has raised Indian GDP growth prediction for 2021-22 fiscal to 10.1% from 5.4% projected in January. The international bank said given the significant uncertainty amid Covid-19 effects on the economy, the real India GDP growth could be in the range from 7.5% to 12.5%.
The World Bank in its South Asia Economic Focus Spring update report said that it has revised the projection amid a strong rebound in private consumption and investment growth. The international bank noted that government consumption is expected to rise by about 16.7% during the reported fiscal.
The World Bank, however, sounded a warning as economic activity is well below pre-Covid-19 estimate. It said that businesses need to make up for lost revenue and millions of workers, most of them in the informal sector, still reel from job losses and falling incomes should be taken care.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty FMCG index slipped 0.26% to 34,841.60, snapping its three day winning run. The index rallyed 5.1% in the past three days.
Procter Gamble Hygiene Healthcare (down 1.53%), Nestle India (down 095%), HUL (down 0.89%), Marico (down 0.56%), Emami (down 0.44%) and United Breweries (down 0.42%) were top losers in FMCG space.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Welspun India rose 2.03% to Rs 82.75 after the company said that it has prepaid term loans of Rs 374.27 crore as on 31 March 2021 along with other installments which were due as on the year end on standalone basis. The weighted average interest rate of the loans prepaid by the company was 8.48% p.a.," the company said in a BSE filing made after trading hours yesterday.
GMR Infrastructure lost 0.21%. The company's subsidiary Delhi International Airport (DIAL) successfully completed the issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) worth Rs 3257 crore on 30 March 2021. The NCDs have been priced at interest rate of 10.96% per annum and have been subscribed by Cliffton (a FPI, registered under SEBI). "The proceeds from the NCD's will be utilized to refinance the outstanding debt of around USD 289 Mn due in FY22 and to partly finance the Phase 3A Expansion," DIAL said in a statement.
Global Markets:
Asian stocks were trading higher on Thursday, supported by the US government's $2 trillion spending plan.
A private survey released Thursday showed slowing growth of Chinese factory activity in March. The Caixin/Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for March came in at 50.6, compared with February's reading of 50.9.
Japan's factory activity expanded at a faster pace in March. The final au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 52.7 in March from the previous month's 51.4 reading.
In US, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose on Wednesday, boosted by gains in technology shares as investors positioned themselves for President Joe Biden's massive infrastructure plan.
US President Joe Biden unveiled a massive infrastructure package on Wednesday, which includes roughly $2 trillion in spending over eight years. The government will raise the corporate tax rate to 28%, combined with measures designed to stop offshoring of profits, to fund the infrastructure plan within 15 years.
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