Benchmarks hit fresh record closing highs on Thursday

Extending gains for the eighth session in a row, Indian equity benchmarks continued to hit fresh record closing highs on Thursday in spite of some volatility due to weekly expiry day. Markets made positive start and stayed in green for whole day amid firm global market trends and continuous foreign fund inflows. Traders got encouragement as the government data showed that retail inflation for industrial workers rose to 6.08 per cent in October from 6.49 per cent in September 2022 mainly due to lower prices of certain food items. Some optimism came in as Chief Economic Advsior V Anantha Nageswaran said the Indian economy is on track to achieve a 6.8-7 per cent GDP growth in the current fiscal. He said the economic recovery momentum is continuing and the GDP is averaging the 2019-20 level.

Sentiments remained up-beat after  a private survey showed India's factory activity expanded at its fastest pace in three months in November, signalling resilient demand despite deteriorating global economic conditions as input cost inflation fell to a two-year low. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, rose to 55.7 last month compared with 55.3 in October, marking the seventeenth successive month of expansion in manufacturing production across India. Additional support came as investment in the Indian capital markets through participatory notes rose to Rs 97,784 crore at the end of October, the highest in a year. This was also the third consecutive monthly increase in investments through such a route. However, markets trimmed some gains in late afternoon deals as some concern came with data showing that growth in production by eight infrastructure industries, which comprise the core sector, slowed down sharply to a 20-month low of 0.1 per cent in October, owing to a high base effect and weak activity.

On the global front, Asian markets settled mostly higher on Thursday, while European markets were trading higher as investors cheered U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's hints of smaller interest rate hikes and China's decision to soften its tone on strict COVID-19 restrictions. Besides, the giant Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Chongqing announced an easing of COVID curbs in the wake of nationwide rallies calling for an end to lockdowns.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 184.54 points or 0.29% to 63,284.19 and the CNX Nifty was up by 54.15 points or 0.29% to 18,812.50.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 63,583.07 and 63,183.77, respectively. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.62%, while Small cap index was up by 0.63%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 2.03%, Realty up by 1.94%, Metal up by 1.75%, TECK up by 1.58% and Capital Goods up by 0.86%, while Utilities down by 0.73%, Power down by 0.71%, Oil & Gas down by 0.66%, Energy down by 0.55% and Auto down by 0.19% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 2.86%, Tata Steel up by 2.79%, TCS up by 2.44%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.27% and Wipro up by 1.63%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.41%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.06%, Power Grid Corporation down by 0.94%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.65% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.61% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) in its latest data has indicated that the government's fiscal deficit in end-October touched 45.6 per cent of the full year Budget Estimate. In actual terms, the fiscal deficit -- the difference between expenditure and revenue -- was Rs 7,58,137 crore during the April-October period of 2022-23.

As per the CGA data, in the corresponding period last year, the deficit was 36.3 per cent of the Budget Estimates of 2021-22. For 2022-23, the fiscal deficit of the government is estimated to be Rs 16.61 lakh crore or 6.4 per cent of the GDP. The net tax revenue at Rs 11.71 lakh crore was 60.5 per cent of BE 2022-23. During the corresponding period of 2021-22, the tax revenue (net) was 68.1 per cent of that year's BE.

Data also stated that Central government's total expenditure during April-October works out to be Rs 54.3 per cent of BE 2022-23, higher than 52.4 per cent of BE in the year-ago period. The central government's total receipts, including non-tax revenue, stood at Rs 13.85 lakh crore or 60.7 per cent of the current year's BE. In the year-ago period, the total receipts had touched 64.7 per cent of BE 2021-22.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 18,887.60 and 18,778.20. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 2.84%, Hindalco up by 2.80%, Tata Steel up by 2.69%, Grasim Industries up by 2.63% and TCS up by 2.43%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.41%, UPL down by 1.41%, Cipla down by 1.37%, Eicher Motors down by 1.31% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.22% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 8.30 points or 0.11% to 7,581.35, France’s CAC increased 2.66 points or 0.04% to 6,741.21 and Germany’s DAX was up by 57.70 points or 0.40% to 14,454.74.

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Thursday tracking overnight rally in Wall Street after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated the central bank might moderate the pace of rate increases as soon as December. Chinese shares gained after two major cities in China announced an easing of Covid curbs in the wake of nationwide rallies calling for an end to lockdowns, boosted expectations that China would reopen its economy soon. While Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said the Omicron variant was weakening and vaccination rates were improving, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. Japanese shares rose after data showed Japanese firms ramped up capital spending at their fastest pace in over four years in the third quarter.