Markets end volatile session higher; Nifty above 18,400 mark

Indian equity benchmarks ended in green in a volatile trading session on Tuesday led by buying in Oil & Gas, Telecom and Auto stocks amid favorable global cues. Both the indices, Sensex and Nifty, had opened higher but soon pared gains and turned red even as the government data showed that retail inflation dropped to 6.77 per cent in October from 7.41 per cent in the preceding month, mainly due to easing prices in the food basket, though it remained above Reserve Bank's comfort level for the 10th month in a row. Some concern also came as Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the Centre is ready for bringing petrol and diesel under the GST regime but it is unlikely that the states will agree to such a move. Sentiments remained weak amid a private report stating that Indian businesses are likely to increase their spending on information technology slightly in 2023 amid the looming tensions on inflation and economic slowdown. India’s overall IT spending is projected to grow 2.6 per cent next year down from 22.1 per cent in 2021

However, markets reversed losses and inched higher in the last hour of trade tracking unabated foreign capital inflows. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net bought shares worth Rs 1,089.41 crore on November 14, as per provisional data available on the NSE. Traders also found support with private report stating that India's retail inflation to track within the Reserve Bank of India's target band by March 2023. It expects inflation to moderate in FY24 as the effect of higher commodity prices wears off in YoY terms and supply chains continue to normalize. Further, as it expects a rise in capex in FY24, it expect this higher capacity to help cap further rise in core inflation pressures in FY25. Traders also took note of a World Bank’s report stating that India will need to invest $840 billion over the next 15 years to upgrade its urban infrastructure if it is to effectively meet the needs of its fast-growing population in cities.

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in green after Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard signaled that the U.S. central bank will likely soon slow its interest rate hikes. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday supported by China's relaxation of its COVID-related quarantine measures and cautious optimism over the outcome of a face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Biden and his Chinese counterpart.

Back home, auto component industry stocks were in focus as credit ratings agency ICRA in a report said auto component suppliers are expected to log an 8-10 per cent growth in revenue this fiscal driven by healthy domestic original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and pent-up demand from the aftermarket even as headwinds persist on the exports front. Edible oil industry stocks remained in limelight as industry body SEA said India’s edible oil import bill rose 34.18 per cent to Rs 1.57 lakh crore in the oil year ending October 2022, while in volume terms it rose 6.85 per cent to 140.3 lakh tone.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 248.84 points or 0.40% to 61,872.99 and the CNX Nifty was up by 74.25 points or 0.41% to 18,403.40.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 61,955.96 and 61,436.90, respectively. There were 20 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining, while 1 stock remains unchanged on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.08%, while Small cap index was up by 0.01%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 0.99%, Telecom up by 0.79%, Auto up by 0.75%, Bankex up by 0.70% and Utilities up by 0.53%, while Metal down by 0.60%, Capital Goods down by 0.21%, Realty down by 0.08%, Industrials down by 0.04% and FMCG down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid Corporation up by 2.20%, ICICI Bank up by 1.92%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.64%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.56% and SBI up by 1.41%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.76%, ITC down by 0.60%, Reliance Industries down by 0.43%, Sun Pharma down by 0.33% and Nestle down by 0.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said inflation in India is less as compared to the US, the UK and other countries. Singh also claimed that the country's economy is progressing rapidly under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He mentioned ‘Inflation in India is less as compared to America (US), Britain and other countries. Our economy is currently at the fifth position, which will rise to third place in the coming times.’ Besides, he said, 'PM Modi says 'Make in India' and also make for the world. Work pertaining to the manufacturing of BrahMos missile unit in Lucknow is being carried out on a fast track mode and Rs 385 crore has been approved for the project recently.'

BrahMos manufacturing is part of India's defence export plans and the country earlier this year signed a $375 million deal to export the supersonic cruise missile to the Philippines. According to Singh, exports in the defence sector have risen from Rs 900 crore in 2014 to Rs 18,000 crore this year.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 18,427.95 and 18,282.00. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid Corporation up by 2.41%, ONGC up by 2.26%, ICICI Bank up by 2.04%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.85% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.84%. On the flip side, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.01%, Grasim Industries down by 0.71%, Cipla down by 0.59%, ITC down by 0.49% and UPL down by 0.46% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 9.06 points or 0.12% to 7,394.23 and France’s CAC increased 22.35 points or 0.34% to 6,631.52, while Germany’s DAX decreased 13.26 points or 0.09% to 14,300.04.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday amid disappointing Chinese industrial output and retail sales data fueled hopes that the China government will unveil more stimulus measures to counter the economic slowdown. Japanese shares inched higher, despite data showed the country's economy unexpectedly shrank for the first time in a year in the third quarter. Although, overnight fall in Wall Street's main indexes following hawkish comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller, capped further gains.