Key gauges manage to trade in green in morning deals

Indian equity markets trimmed most of their gains but managed to trade in green in morning deals, led by gains in Power, Utilities and Banking stocks. Sentiments remained positive with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that any increase in GST rates under the rate rationalisation exercise is intended to make up for the ‘inefficiencies’ in the value chain. Traders also took a note of a report released by Washington-based World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA) stated that the Indian direct selling industry has reported retail sales of $3.25 billion in 2021 (around Rs 27,650 crore) and maintained its 12th place in the global rankings. However, gains remain capped as exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 851.06 crore on Wednesday. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed following the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street, as uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets kept traders on the sidelines following recent volatility and global recession concerns.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 53136.68, up by 109.71 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 52897.16 and 53377.54. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.17%, while Small cap index down by 0.13%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 0.82%, Utilities up by 0.67%, Bankex up by 0.60%, Telecom up by 0.38% and Oil & Gas up by 0.30%, while Realty down by 0.96%, Metal down by 0.49%, Basic Materials down by 0.28%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.20% and Auto down by 0.18% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 1.53%, SBI up by 1.26%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.19%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.08% and Power Grid Corporation up by 0.85%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 0.92%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.76%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.67%, Indusind Bank down by 0.63% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.53% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has said that the government has decided to give marketing freedom to domestic crude oil producers, allowing them to sell oil to whosoever they want.

The move is set to be beneficial for major crude oil producers, such as state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India, and private sector majors like Vedanta’s Cairn Oil and Gas and Reliance Industries.

Thakur sated the Cabinet approved deregulation of the sale of domestically produced crude oil. From October 1, condition in Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) to sell crude oil to the government or its nominee or government companies will be waived. This essentially means producers will be free to sell oil from their fields in the domestic market.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15817.20, up by 18.10 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 15769.95 and 15890.00. There were 21 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Axis Bank up by 1.63%, SBI up by 1.39%, SBI Life Insurance up by 1.27%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.18% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.15%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 3.61%, Cipla down by 2.12%, ONGC down by 1.72%, UPL down by 1.03% and Coal India down by 1.01% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Shanghai Composite gained 44.12 points or 1.31% to 3,405.64, Jakarta Composite soared 25.75 points or 0.37% to 6,968.10 and Hang Seng increased 5.69 points or 0.03% to 22,002.58. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 8.72 points or 0.28% to 3,126.15, KOSPI fell 29.05 points or 1.22% to 2,348.94, Taiwan Weighted dropped 348.05 points or 2.28% to 14,892.08 and Nikkei 225 slipped 370.65 points or 1.38% to 26,433.95.