Markets likely to start F&O expiry session in green

Indian markets pared early gains to finish slightly higher on Wednesday as rise in banking, metals, and oil and gas stocks were offset by decline in information technology and FMCG stocks. Today, markets are likely to start F&O expiry session in green tracking firm global cues. Traders will be getting encouragement as Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said India's tax collection will exceed the budget estimate by nearly Rs 4 lakh crore in the current fiscal on the back of buoyant income tax, customs duty and GST mop-up. Some support will come as the S&P Global Market Intelligence projected India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth to average 6.3 per cent annually between financial years 2021 and 2030, enabling it to overtake Japan and Germany to become the world’s third-largest economy in nominal US dollar terms. Traders may take note of report that India's G-20 sherpa Amitabh Kant said financial regulators were designed in the socialist era and there is a need for a change in the mindset of many regulators to aid economic growth. However, there may be some cautiousness as the data of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) showed that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflows into India contracted by 14 per cent to USD 26.9 billion during the April-September this fiscal. The inflows had stood at USD 31.15 billion during the corresponding period of the previous year. Also, foreign fund outflows likely to dent sentiments in markets. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 789.86 crore on 23 November, according to the provisional data available on the NSE. There will be some buzz in the telecom stocks as telecom regulator Trai in a report said telecom service providers' adjusted gross revenue grew 17.91 per cent on a year-over-year basis to Rs 60,530 crore in April-June 2022 with Jio leading in terms of revenue share. Sugar stocks will be in focus as the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said India is likely to extend the limit of sugar exports by 2-4 million tonnes in the 2022-23 season. The move will leave total exports at 8-10 million tonnes and below last year's level. Meanwhile, Keystone Realtors, the real estate development company under ‘Rustomjee’ brand, will debut on the BSE and NSE.

The US markets ended higher on Wednesday with solid gains after the Federal Reserve's November meeting minutes showed interest rate hikes may slow soon. Asian markets are trading in green on Thursday following overnight gains on Wall Street.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks ended with minor gains on Wednesday, supported by buying in Oil & Gas, Banking and Metal stocks, and positive cues from global peers, while investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's November policy meeting minutes. Key gauges made positive start and stayed in green for whole day as traders took some support with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) latest Economic Outlook report stating that India, with a growth rate of 6.6 per cent in this financial year, 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. Some optimism also came after Moody's Investors Service said the trend of gradual fiscal consolidation remains intact for India and going forward the country will see strong revenue performance and debt stablisation. Indices added gains in late afternoon deals, taking support from 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, in the last leg of the trade, key gauges erased some gains to end marginally higher as traders got anxious with provisional data available on the NSE showed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net sold shares worth Rs 697.83 crore on November 22, 2022. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 91.62 points or 0.15% to 61,510.58 and the CNX Nifty was up by 23.05 points or 0.13% to 18,267.25.