Indian stock indices at record peak as IT, bank shares shine

Indian IT services and financial shares helped key stock indexes to scale a record highs on Friday, as investors turned their focus to the third-quarter earnings season. Favourable global cues along with positive domestic macro-economic data pushed the equities higher during the trade session.

The NSE Nifty 50 advanced 209.90 points or 1.48% to 14,347.25 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex added 689.19 points or 1.43% to 48,782.51, with both indexes made the first full week of the new year higher.

“Markets are focusing on earnings, more so on key sectors like IT and banking wherein they are keenly eyeing how the results pan out,” said Narendra Solanki, head of equity research (fundamental) at Anand Rathi Investment Services.

“IT is being seen as performing good, based on last quarter’s optimistic management commentary on outlook in India and globally.”

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose 1.6% and was among the top boosts to the Nifty, while smaller rivals Infosys and Wipro gained 1.5% and 1.6%, respectively, ahead of their results next week.

Separately, India’s Central Statistics Office estimated on Thursday that the economy would contract 7.7% in the current financial year, broadly in line with forecasts of private economists and the central bank.

Among other sectors, the Nifty Bank Index climbed 0.67%, with HDFC Bank among the top boosts to the Nifty 50.

Biocon added 1.8% after the biopharmaceutical firm said Abu Dhabi-based holding company ADQ would invest 5.55 billion rupees in its biologics unit.

Sugar companies Balrampur Chini Mills, Avadh Sugar & Energy, Rana Sugars and Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar gained between 1.3% and 2.2%.

Indian sugar mills are aggressively signing export contracts as global prices hit multi-year highs, four industry officials told Reuters on Thursday.

Broader Asian markets scaled fresh highs after Wall Street hit record levels overnight, as investors bet on an economic recovery later in the year.

Meanwhile, Indian sugar mills are aggressively signing export contracts after New Delhi approved a subsidy for overseas sales and as global prices hit their highest level in 3-1/2 years, four industry officials told Reuters on Thursday.

The exports will help the world’s second-biggest sugar producer to bring down stockpiles and support local prices, which, at odds with the global market, have been falling due to oversupply at home.

But the shipments could cap a rally in benchmark prices in New York and London.

Mills have so far agreed contracts to export 1.5 million tonnes of sugar in the 2020/21 marketing year that started on Oct. 1, mainly to Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and African countries for shipments in January to March, the officials said.

Contracts were signed between $375 and $395 a tonne on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, three dealers directly involved in the deals said. They did not wish to be identified in line with their organisations’ policies.

“Most of the contracts were done for raw sugar, which is heading to Indonesia,” said Rahil Shaikh, managing director of MEIR Commodities India.

Indonesia, which traditionally imports the bulk of its requirement from Thailand, started buying Indian sugar in 2020 after changing purity regulations for sugar imports.

Out of the 1.5 million tonnes of export contracts signed, nearly 1 million tonnes was for raw sugar, while the rest was for white sugar, dealers said.

Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and African countries are buying small amounts of white sugar, but demand is limited for whites due to a shortage of containers, they said.

“Currently mills’ net realization from exports is higher than domestic sales after adding the government subsidy for exports,” said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm.

In mid-December, India approved a subsidy of Rs 5,833 ($79.53) per tonne to encourage cash-strapped mills to export 6 million tonnes of sugar in the 2020/21.

Shoring up domestic prices of sugar will help ensure that millions of Indian farmers get the price set by the government.

The government fixes sugar cane prices that mills must pay to farmers, but with sugar prices under pressure mills were struggling to pay the mandatory price for cane. India’s economy is expected to contract 7.7% in the current financial year ending in March, the worst performance in four decades, which is likely to prompt the finance minister to make a push for growth in the budget next month.