Sensex, Nifty trim gains in late morning session

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some of their gains in late morning session, but remained in green, on the back of positive cues from other Asian markets. Sentiments were optimistic, amid a private report stating that the Department of Commerce is considering the formation of dedicated units called 'subject matter divisions' to build expertise in industries like services, agriculture, medicines, trade remedies, and digital trade as part of a more aggressive approach to free trade agreements. India wants to be able to negotiate agreements with other nations at the World Trade Organization from a position of strength.

However, gains got cut, after growth in India's services industry slumped in September to a six-month low, led by a substantial easing in demand amid high inflation. The S&P Global India services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 54.3 in September from August's 57.2.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, even after the private sector in Hong Kong fell into contraction territory in September, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Thursday with a PMI score of 48.0. That's down from 51.2 in August, and it moves beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58338.14, up by 272.67 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 58290.47 and 58578.76. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.02%, while Small cap index was up by 1.32%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.02%, Realty up by 2.35%, Capital Goods up by 1.81%, Industrials up by 1.72% and Power up by 1.46%, while FMCG down by 0.12% and Healthcare down by 0.02% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 1.88%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.78%, HCL Tech. up by 1.65%, Tata Steel up by 1.63% and Axis Bank up by 1.57%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.78%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.72%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.49%, Indusind Bank down by 1.04% and Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.78% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Steel has constituted two advisory committees, one each for the integrated steel plants (ISPs) and the secondary steel sector. These committees take cognizance of the issues being faced by the sector and deliberate on the ways and means to mitigate them so as to achieve a targeted crude steel production capacity of 300 million tonne (MT) by 2030-31, as envisaged in the National Steel Policy 2017.

Members of the steel industry, associations, academia, and senior retired government officials are members of the two separate committees formed for integrated steel plants (ISPs) and the secondary steel sector.

The ministry is extensively engaged with all concerned stakeholders and has been holding consultations with them to develop and finalise the contours of 'Vision 2047' for the sector. Several meetings of the advisory committee on ISPs and the secondary sector have been held since their formation.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17368.60, up by 94.30 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 17340.65 and 17428.80. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 3.90%, JSW Steel up by 3.58%, Hindalco up by 3.40%, ICICI Bank up by 1.94% and Tata Steel up by 1.83%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.80%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.56%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.40%, Cipla down by 1.27% and Divi's Lab down by 1.12% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 236.33 points or 0.87% to 27,356.86, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 90.62 points or 0.66% to 13,892.05, Jakarta Composite soared 11.53 points or 0.16% to 7,086.92, KOSPI rose 34.26 points or 1.55% to 2,249.48, Straits Times advanced 11.61 points or 0.37% to 3,164.84. On the flip side, Hang Seng decreased 11.62 points or 0.06% to 18,076.35.