Markets trim some of gains amid rising crude oil prices

Indian equity markets trimmed some of their gains but continued to trade in green in late morning deals. Meanwhile, broader indices on the BSE were also trading with gains in the range of 0.35-0.45%.  Mixed cues from global markets amid rising crude oil prices weighted on sentiments.  Some weakness also prevailed in the markets as formal job creation in India slowed down in August after remaining buoyant for the last four months across the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation and the National Pension Scheme. However, gains remained capped as sentiments were supported by Indian rupee appreciating 67 paise to 82.14 against the dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on increased selling of the US currency by exporters and banks.  Most of the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in green led by Metal, Realty, Oil & Gas, Power and Utilities.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed following the mostly negative cues from US markets overnight.  The Japanese market was trading lower in choppy trading, giving up some of the gains in the previous three sessions, with exporters and financial stocks leading the declines. Back home, in stock specific development, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals tumbled after the U.S FDA put its manufacturing plant at Baddi under import alert.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59736.23, up by 192.27 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 59720.80 and 59959.94. There were 20 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.39%, while Small cap index up by 0.44%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.90%, Realty up by 1.87%, Oil & Gas up by 1.12%, Power up by 0.98% and Utilities up by 0.97%, while IT down by 0.03% was the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 3.21%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.89%, Power Grid Corp up by 1.65%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.23% and Titan Co up by 1.21%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.46%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.15%, Asian Paints down by 1.14%, Nestle down by 0.90% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.70% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) in its latest data has showed that India and China bilateral trade continued to boom, crossing $100 billion for the second year in the first nine months of 2022 while India's trade deficit climbed to over $75 billion. The total bilateral trade, amidst the military standoff in eastern Ladakh, went up to $103.63 billion, registering a 14.6 per cent increase compared to last year during the same period. China's exports to India climbed to $89.66 billion, registering an increase of 31 per cent.

However, India's exports in the past nine months stood at $13.97 billion, registering a decline of 36.4 per cent. As a result, the total trade deficit went up to over $75.69 billion. Last year, the India-China bilateral trade hit a record high of over $125 billion crossing the $100 billion mark in a year when the relations touched a new low due to the standoff by the militaries in eastern Ladakh.

Last year, China's exports to India went up by 46.2 per cent to $97.52 billion while India's exports to China grew by 34.2 per cent to $28.14 billion. The trade deficit for India stood at $69.38 billion in 2021.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17722.45, up by 66.10 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 17717.55 and 17783.90. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 4.54%, Hindalco up by 3.33%, Tata Steel up by 3.11%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.96% and UPL up by 1.69%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.48%, Asian Paints down by 1.13%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.12%, Nestle down by 0.90% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.73% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 200.88 points or 1.58% to 12,929.93, Hang Seng increased 278.51 points or 1.82% to 15,596.18, Jakarta Composite soared 29.38 points or 0.42% to 7,073.32 and KOSPI rose 39.60 points or 1.76% to 2,289.16. However, Nikkei 225 slipped 80.61 points or 0.29% to 27,351.23, Straits Times trembled 0.93 points or 0.03% to 3,007.45 and Shanghai Composite declined 10.29 points or 0.34% to 2,989.21.