Barometer gauges maintain gains

Stock markets were trading in fine fettle in the afternoon session due to buying in telecom, utilities and power sectors. Healthy buying was observed in blue-chip stocks like Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance and Bharti Airtel. Strong corporate June-quarter results, easing commodity prices and softening of consumer inflation cheered investors’ mood. Traders were also encouraged as State Bank of India's (SBI) Chairman Dinesh Khara said that things might get better on the inflation front towards the end of September. He said the supply side constraints getting addressed and crude oil prices trending low will help ease the situation. Meanwhile, according to private report Indian government bonds may be added to a global index next year, triggering passive inflows of about $30 billion that will help the India to finance its current account and fiscal deficits. On the global front, Asian shares were trading mostly higher as strong earnings for U.S. retail giants suggested further room for interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve as it attempts to cool inflation.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60185.36, up by 343.15 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 59857.80 and 60219.79. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.62%, while Small cap index was up by 0.55%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.67%, Utilities up by 1.05%, Power up by 1.03%, TECK up by 0.91% and Consumer Durables was up by 0.85%, while Auto was down by 0.11% was the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 6.31%, Bajaj Finance up by 4.42%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.19%, NTPC up by 2.15% and Tech Mahindra was up by 1.64%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.61%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.54%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.39%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.25% and HDFC was down by 0.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency -- Crisil in its latest report has said that with the closure of the fifth generation (5G) telecom auctions, India has joined a select list of 70 countries with 5G technology offerings. However, it said 5G rollout faces a host of challenges-among others, a lack of use cases, costly handsets, and potential rollout at a premium that will limit 5G revenue to single digit share of total revenue by fiscal 2026.

According to the report, the government garnered Rs1.5 lakh crore from the sale of spectrum, with four players bidding actively. At least Rs13,000 crore of the cash flow is likely this fiscal. From the players' perspective, subscriber upgrade to 5G and aggressive market share gains will be key to success. Additionally, the low level of fiberisation at present will necessitate network capex of Rs1.5-2.5 lakh crore in the next 2-3 years, with a potential 5-9% increase due to rupee depreciation this fiscal alone.

However, the report said zero spectrum usage charge (SUC) and relaxation of upfront payment provide some relief. As things stand, enterprise readiness is on a sticky wicket at present, though manufacturing appears to be the most suitable and ready for 5G adoption.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17925.95, up by 100.70 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 17833.35 and 17937.50. There were 36 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finserv up by 6.15%, Bajaj Finance up by 4.33%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.57%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.15% and Bharti Airtel was up by 2.09%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 1.35%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.13%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.89%, Cipla down by 0.68% and Coal India was down by 0.56% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; Hang Seng increased 174.94 points or 0.88% to 20,005.46, Shanghai Composite gained 15.38 points or 0.47% to 3,293.26, Nikkei 225 surged 353.86 points or 1.23% to 29,222.77, Straits Times advanced 13.37 points or 0.41% to 3,267.16 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 44.88 points or 0.29% to 15,465.45.

On the flip side, KOSPI was down by 17.05 points or 0.67% to 2,516.47.