Benchmarks erase losses to trade higher in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks wiped off opening losses and edged higher in morning deals, led by gains in Banking, PSU, Utilities and Power stocks. Traders found some solace with a private report that India’s focus on reforms and economic growth will result in foreign direct investment (FDI) of $475 billion in the next five years as most multinational companies (MNCs) see India as an attractive investment destination for their global expansion. Some support also came with data released by the commerce ministry showing that the country's exports rose by 4.82% to $35.45 billion in September, even as the trade deficit widened to $25.71 billion. The trade deficit in September 2021 was $22.47 billion. Moreover, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) weekly statistical supplement showed that India's foreign exchange reserves rose to $532.87 billion in the week through October 7. The country's reserves rose by $204 million from the previous week, the first increase since the week ended July 29.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red after a closely watched survey showed U.S. inflation expectations were increasing, adding to worries around the Fed's policy tightening. Back home, Coal industry stocks remained in limelight as Union coal minister Pralhad Joshi said that the country will stop import of thermal coal by 2024-25. The minister expressed his concern that that the country has to import coal despite having adequate domestic resource of the fuel.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58111.67, up by 191.70 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 57639.80 and 58162.52. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.14%, while Small cap index was down by 0.03%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.00%, PSU up by 0.61%, Utilities up by 0.59%, Power up by 0.56% and FMCG up by 0.22%, while Metal down by 0.74%, Energy down by 0.68%, Oil & Gas down by 0.68%, Capital Goods down by 0.38% and Industrials down by 0.37% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 2.12%, ICICI Bank up by 1.26%, Infosys up by 0.88%, HDFC Bank up by 0.79% and Axis Bank up by 0.76%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.18%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.81%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.76%, Wipro down by 0.74% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.57% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has expressed confidence that the country will achieve the export target for goods and services to USD 2 trillion by 2030. He emphasised on sustaining the export momentum and said that he is confident that Indian exports will be able to wither the global headwinds and will surpass growth in exports by a big margin.

He also said that by 2047, the country will become a USD 30 trillion economy with 25 per cent share in exports. The industry participants were assured that the government is committed to addressing the issues raised by them.

Besides, A Sakthivel, President, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said that Indian exporters have good opportunities for exports to Russia and the EU despite recessionary trends visible there. He said that there would be about USD 8-10 billion additional exports to Russia in the next 12 months and USD 15-20 billion to the EU

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17217.70, up by 32.00 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 17098.55 and 17249.70. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI up by 2.00%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.44%, ICICI Bank up by 1.17%, Infosys up by 0.70% and HDFC Bank up by 0.69%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 1.36%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.29%, JSW Steel down by 1.27%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.04% and BPCL down by 1.02% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted dropped 186.25 points or 1.42% to 12,941.87, Hang Seng decreased 188.23 points or 1.13% to 16,399.46, Nikkei 225 slipped 365.97 points or 1.35% to 26,724.79, Straits Times trembled 35.15 points or 1.16% to 3,004.46, Shanghai Composite declined 3.16 points or 0.1% to 3,068.83 and Jakarta Composite lost 27.32 points or 0.4% to 6,787.21.

On the flip side, KOSPI rose 1.10 points or 0.05% to 2,213.65.