Benchmarks trade mildly in positive territory in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks pared gains and were trading mildly in the positive territory in morning deals, amid buying in Banking and Auto counters and a firm trend in global markets. Traders took some support with commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the UK is a high priority for both the countries and the next round of negotiations for the pact is slated to happen next month. Some support also came as highlighting the Centre's efforts in creating employment opportunities, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that about 16 lakh jobs are being generated every month by the central government. However, gains remain capped as provisional data available on the NSE showed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net sold shares worth Rs 697.83 crore on November 22, 2022.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green as investors await the release of Federal Reserve minutes from its November policy meeting for directional cues. Back home, stocks related to airline sector remained in watch as Data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) showed that Indian airlines carried 1.14 crore passengers in October, 10 per cent higher than the number of people flown in September. It said domestic air traffic jumped nearly 27 per cent to 114.07 lakh in October compared to the year-ago period when it was 89.85 lakh. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61498.40, up by 79.44 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 61442.69 and 61780.90. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.20%, while Small cap index was up by 0.45%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.54%, Auto up by 0.40%, Healthcare up by 0.27% and Industrials up by 0.21%, while FMCG down by 0.20%, Capital Goods down by 0.13%, TECK down by 0.09%, IT down by 0.08% and Realty down by 0.08% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 1.11%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.90%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.90%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.80% and Titan Co up by 0.74%. On the flip side, ITC down by 0.63%, TCS down by 0.60%, Asian Paints down by 0.45%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.37% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.37% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Paris-based intergovernmental body, it its latest report has said that India, with a growth rate of 6.6 per cent in this financial year, is among the fastest growing economies in Asia amid a global slowdown triggered by a massive energy shock due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

It stated that India is set to be the second-fastest growing economy in the G20 in FY 2022-23 behind Saudi Arabia, despite decelerating global demand and the tightening of monetary policy to manage inflationary pressures. Further, it said the GDP growth in the country will slow to 5.7 per cent in FY 2023-24 as exports and domestic demand growth moderate, but it would mean it would still be growing more than many other G20 economies including China and Saudi Arabia.

It mentioned after hitting 6.6 per cent in FY 2022-23, GDP growth is expected to slow in coming quarters, to 5.7 per cent in FY 2023-24, before reverting to around 7 per cent in FY 2024-25. Besides, it said growth in 2023 is strongly dependent on the major Asian emerging market economies, who will account for close to three-quarters of global GDP growth next year, with the United States and Europe decelerating sharply.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18262.75, up by 18.55 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 18251.75 and 18325.40. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 1.20%, SBI up by 1.08%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.90%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.87% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.86%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 0.97%, ITC down by 0.66%, Indusind Bank down by 0.63%, TCS down by 0.56% and Tata Consumer Produc down by 0.53% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Hang Seng surged 72.99 points or 0.42% to 17,497.40, Taiwan Weighted rose 79.05 points or 0.54% to 14,621.25, KOSPI added 8.35 points or 0.35% to 2,413.62 and Jakarta Composite was up by 35.91 points or 0.51% to 7,066.50.

On the other hand, Straits Times fell 6.73 points or 0.21% to 3,252.83 and Shanghai Composite was down by 5.99 points or 0.19% to 3,082.95.