Indian markets maintain upward momentum

Indian equity markets maintained their upward momentum in the noon session following gains in Bankex, Auto and Telecom stocks. Healthy buying was observed in blue-chip stocks like Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel. Sentiments were upbeat as International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that despite global uncertainty and headwinds, India continues to be a bright spot in the global economy. Appreciating domestic currency too supported the traders’ sentiment. The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 79.74, stronger by 21 paise from its previous close of 79.95 on Wednesday.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher as oil prices steadied at lower levels not seen since before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, though China was an exception, as weak data signalled more pressure on the Covid-hit economy. Back home, on the sectoral front, auto stocks were trading higher as Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations’ (FADA) data stated that the retail sales of automobiles in India grew 8.31 per cent in August this year on the back of increase in registrations of vehicles across all major segments.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59467.88, up by 438.97 points or 0.74% after trading in a range of 59374.99 and 59638.63. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.34%, while Small cap index was up by 0.68%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.39%, Auto up by 0.83%, Telecom up by 0.83%, IT up by 0.83% and TECK was up by 0.81%, while Metal down by 0.75%, Consumer Durables down by 0.36% and Realty was down by 0.10% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.89%, ICICI Bank up by 2.46%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.34%, Axis Bank up by 2.32% and Indusind Bank was up by 2.05%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.44%, Nestle down by 0.52%, Sun Pharma down by 0.23%, Power Grid down by 0.20% and NTPC was down by 0.09% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) in its latest data has showed that retail sales of automobiles in India grew 8.31 per cent in August 2022 on the back of increase in registrations of vehicles across all major segments. Total vehicle retail sales in the country stood at 15,21,490 units last month as compared to 14,04,704 units in August 2021.

According to the data, passenger vehicles (PV) retail sales stood at 2,74,448 units as compared to 2,57,672 units in the year-ago month, a growth of 6.51 per cent. Two-wheeler (2W) retail sales also grew by 8.52 per cent at 10,74,266 units in August 2022 as against 9,89,969 units in the same month last year. The three-wheeler (3W) segment witnessed the highest growth rate last month posting 83.14 per cent increase at 56,313 units, up from 30,748 units in the same month a year ago.

On the outlook, FADA said with easing of supply, the PV segment will definitely see the best ever festivities (Navratri and Diwali) in the last one decade.  It said ‘along with this, if vehicle prices continue to remain stable and there are no more health related threats, we may see an uptick in the much awaited 2W space which has not shown the required growth since last festivals’. It added that while Onam and Navratri fall in September, the month also has 15-day period of Shraadh, generally considered as an inauspicious period for buying vehicles.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17740.10, up by 115.70 points or 0.66% after trading in a range of 17722.75 and 17792.20. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Shree Cement up by 5.83%, BPCL up by 3.66%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.02%, Axis Bank up by 2.44% and ICICI Bank was up by 2.42%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.63%, Hindalco down by 1.35%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.23%, Coal India down by 0.92% and Nestle was down by 0.87% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; Nikkei 225 surged 634.98 points or 2.31% to 28,065.28, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 173.37 points or 1.2% to 14,583.42, KOSPI rose 7.82 points or 0.33% to 2,384.28, Straits Times advanced 27.80 points or 0.87% to 3,238.63 and Jakarta Composite was up by 78.20 points or 1.09% to 7,264.96.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 7.41 points or 0.23% to 3,238.88 and Hang Seng was down by 147.01 points or 0.77% to 18,897.29.