Indian markets extend gains in late morning session

Indian equity benchmarks extended their gains in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty holding strong gains, despite negative cues from other Asian markets. Domestic sentiments got a boost, after RBI Governor said that Indian economy continues to be resilient in midst of global turmoil. Traders also got support, as India climbed six notches to 40th position in the Global Innovation Index 2022 on account of improvement in several parameters. According to a report by the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Switzerland, the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are the world's most-innovative economies.

The street overlooked reports that India's current account deficit, a key indicator of the balance of payment position, widened to 2.8 per cent of GDP at $23.9 billion in the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY23), mainly on account of a higher trade deficit.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower, after the manufacturing sector in China continued to contract in September, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Caixin showed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 48.1. That's down from 49.5 in August and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 56915.08, up by 505.12 points or 0.90% after trading in a range of 56147.23 and 56971.35. 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 0.34%, while Small cap index was up by 0.61%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.80%, Bankex up by 1.72%, Metal up by 1.54%, PSU up by 1.08% and Realty up by 0.86%, while IT down by 0.49%, TECK down by 0.21% and FMCG down by 0.14% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC Bank up by 2.30%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.16%, Indusind Bank up by 1.78%, HDFC up by 1.77% and Titan Co up by 1.74%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.23%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.16%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.99%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.95% and TCS down by 0.94% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India's current account deficit, a key indicator of the balance of payment position, widened to 2.8 per cent of GDP at $23.9 billion in the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY23), mainly on account of a higher trade deficit.

As per the data released by the Reserve Bank on India's (RBI) Balance of Payments during the First Quarter (April-June) of 2022-23, the current account balance recorded a deficit of $23.9 billion (2.8 per cent of GDP) in the first quarter, up from $ 13.4 billion (1.5 per cent of GDP) in January-March period of the last fiscal.

Data also stated that India's current account surplus stood at $6.6 billion, equivalent to 0.9 per cent of GDP in the first quarter (April-June) of 2021-22. Underlying the current account deficit in Q1FY23 was the widening of the merchandise trade deficit to $68.6 billion from $54.5 billion in Q4FY22 and an increase in net outgo of investment income payments. It also said net services receipts increased, both sequentially and on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, on the back of rising exports of computer and business services.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16960.40, up by 142.30 points or 0.85% after trading in a range of 16747.70 and 16976.40. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 3.10%, ONGC up by 2.88%, HDFC Bank up by 2.23%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.15% and HDFC up by 1.85%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.20%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.07%, Tata Motors down by 1.02%, TCS down by 0.97% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.89% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Nikkei 225 slipped 484.84 points or 1.83% to 25,937.21, Hang Seng decreased 11.39 points or 0.07% to 17,154.48, Taiwan Weighted dropped 109.68 points or 0.81% to 13,424.58, KOSPI fell 15.76 points or 0.73% to 2,155.17, Straits Times trembled 13.20 points or 0.42% to 3,101.88, Shanghai Composite declined 2.03 points or 0.07% to 3,039.17 and Jakarta Composite lost 34.95 points or 0.5% to 7,001.25.