Markets trade in green in early deals on Wednesday

Indian equity markets have made positive start and are trading higher in early deals on Wednesday on firm cues from US markets overnight. Weak crude oil prices supported the sentiments. Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said India will continue buying Russian oil as it is advantageous for the country.  He added it is government’s fundamental obligation to ensure that the Indian consumer has the best possible access on most advantageous terms to international (oil and gas) markets. Some support also came in as the growth momentum in India’s manufacturing sector is likely to have picked up in the September quarter and may sustain for the next six to nine months over rising capacity utilisation, according to the latest quarterly survey on Indian manufacturing sector by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The survey shows 61 per cent respondents reporting higher production level in September quarter compared to the same period a year ago as against 55 per cent respondents reporting higher output in June quarter of FY23.  

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher on Wednesday following the positive cues from US markets.  The US markets ended higher on Tuesday amid investors awaited the results of the US midterm elections, which could affect future levels of government spending and regulation.

Back home, there were some buzz in banking sector stocks as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government’s efforts to reduce bad loans are yielding result with 12 public sector banks reporting a 50 per cent jump in combined net profit at Rs 25,685 crore in the second quarter ended September. In the first half of FY23, the cumulative net profit of all public sector banks (PSBs) increased by 32 per cent to Rs 40,991 crore. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen piling up position in Realty, Telecom, FMCG, Energy and Utilities, while selling was witnessed in Consumer Durables and Metal.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61338.68, up by 153.53 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 61280.66 and 61447.23. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.28%, while Small cap index up by 0.37%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.09%, Telecom up by 0.51%, FMCG up by 0.51%, Energy up by 0.48% and Utilities up by 0.46%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.38% and Metal down by 0.24% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL up by 1.20%, Indusind Bank up by 1.19%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.09%, Infosys up by 0.95% and ITC up by 0.95%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corp down by 1.32%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.17%, NTPC down by 0.60%, Titan Co down by 0.56% and Sun Pharma down by 0.30% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has said India will continue buying Russian oil as it is advantageous for the country. India has emerged as Russia’s largest oil customer after China, as refiners snap up discounted Russian oil shunned by Western buyers over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24. India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and a traditional ally of Russia, has not explicitly condemned what Russia calls its special military operation in Ukraine.

Jaishankar stated ‘It is our fundamental obligation to ensure that the Indian consumer has the best possible access on most advantageous terms to international (oil and gas) markets. He added ‘In that respect we have seen that the India and Russia relationship has worked to advantage. So if it works to my advantage I would keep that going.’

He said India and Russia had an “exceptionally” steady and time-tested relationship and the objective was to fashion a balanced, mutually beneficial, and long-term engagement in the backdrop of the increasing economic cooperation.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18232.50, up by 29.70 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 18228.80 and 18296.40. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 3.67%, Britannia up by 1.93%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.52%, Cipla up by 1.45% and Adani Enterprises up by 1.37%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 4.21%, Divi's Lab down by 2.94%, Power Grid Corp down by 1.60%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.19% and NTPC down by 0.97% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 257.02 points or 1.93% to 13,604.78, Straits Times advanced 7.40 points or 0.24% to 3,153.23, KOSPI rose 24.82 points or 1.03% to 2,423.86 and Jakarta Composite soared 8.43 points or 0.12% to 7,058.56. However, Hang Seng decreased 248.81 points or 1.5% to 16,308.50, Shanghai Composite declined 10.83 points or 0.35% to 3,053.66 and Nikkei 225 slipped 127.98 points or 0.46% to 27,744.13.