Indian equity markets trade in fine fettle in late morning deals

Indian equity markets continued to trade in fine fettle in late morning deals on the back of buying by funds and retail investors. The sentiments were supported by Indian rupee appreciating 14 paise at 79.64 per dollar. Further, sentiment got boost as the commerce and industry ministry is framing a law to decriminalise all provisions related to minor offences with an aim to promote ease of doing business in the country.  On the sectoral front, traders were seen piling up position in Oil & Gas, PSU, Bankex, Energy and IT counters, while selling was witnessed in Telecom, Realty, Metal, Capital Goods, Healthcare counters. On the global front, Asian markets were mostly trading in red following the broadly negative cues from global markets on Friday, amid concerns about the outlook for the global economy. Back home stock pacific development,  McLeod Russel India (MRIL) were locked in the 20-per cent upper circuit for a second straight day,  after Carbon Resources (P) acquired nearly 5 per cent stake in the company via open market on September 16.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59243.85, up by 403.06 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 58487.76 and 59277.55. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.08%, while Small cap index up by 0.45%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 0.91%, PSU up by 0.90%, Bankex up by 0.83%, Energy up by 0.82% and IT up by 0.69%, while Telecom down by 0.42%, Realty down by 0.24%, Metal down by 0.24%, Capital Goods down by 0.10%, Healthcare down by 0.05% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.30%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.03%, SBI up by 1.72%, HDFC up by 1.61% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.59%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.65%, Tata Steel down by 0.76%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.76%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.67% and NTPC down by 0.32% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor C Rangarajan advocated maintaining the ongoing hawkish stance by the RBI to tame inflation and expected that the rupee will strengthen with resumption of capital inflow. He also said the country has to clock an 8-9 per cent year-on-year growth for the next five years to achieve the target of a $5-trillion economy. He said ‘the current policy stance should continue. Developed countries are also taking steep rate hikes. I expect more rate hikes’. He noted that the RBI has been maintaining a hawkish stance with rate hikes to tame inflation.

Talking on the rupee trend, RBI Governor said there was a sharp fall in rupee value against the US Dollar to Rs 79-80 with the outflow of capital. He said now, with the inflow of capital, the value of rupee is expected to strengthen but will not reach the pre-COVID levels. There was a positive inflow of Rs 22,000 crore from foreign portfolio investors in August 2022, after months of relentless selling. He also stressed on the need to increase the investment rate to 33 per cent, which has slipped to 27-28 per cent, to achieve a higher growth rate. The share of private investment must also increase.

Asserting that reforms must continue in various sectors like power and agriculture marketing, Rangarajan said that the reform measures undertaken in the 1990s were well-coordinated and had a composite character. He also called for harmony in the Centre-state relationship. He said a consensus building is an integral part as the state and Centre are joint partners in the growth process. Pointing out the labour reforms, he mentioned that it is best during an upswing in the economy. He urged the government to address challenges for adaptation to new technology and issues related to employment generation.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17649.70, up by 118.85 points or 0.68% after trading in a range of 17429.70 and 17667.20. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.35%, Adani Ports &Special up by 3.25%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.31%, SBI Life Insuran up by 2.10% and SBI up by 1.68%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.17%, Cipla down by 1.01%, Tata Steel down by 0.76%, Tata Motors down by 0.72% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Straits Times declined 1.97 point or 0.06% to 3,266.32, Hang Seng slipped 158.87 point or 0.85% to 18,602.82, Taiwan Weighted declined 118.42 point or 0.81% to 14,443.34, KOSPI fell 26.07 point or 1.09% to 2,356.71 and Shanghai Composite was down by 12.93 point or 0.41% to 3,113.47, However Jakarta Composite was up by 7.93 point or 0.11% to 7,176.80.