Benchmarks trade marginally in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks were trading marginally in green in morning deals, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the benchmark lending rate by 35 basis points to 6.25 per cent in a bid to tame inflation, which has remained above its tolerance level for the past 11 months. RBI, however, lowered its GDP growth forecast for FY23 to 6.8 per cent from 7 per cent earlier. Some support came as Fitch Ratings retained India's economic growth forecast at 7 per cent for the current fiscal, saying India could be one of the fastest-growing emerging markets this year. However, gains remain capped as some concern came with stock exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 635.35 crore on Tuesday.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red amid caution ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy announcement later in the day. Back home, cement industry stocks remained in watch with a private report that the price of cement is hardening across the country and since August this year, the rates have gone up by Rs 16/per bag. According to a report, in November the prices went up by about Rs 6-7/bag.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62722.42, up by 96.06 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 62524.02 and 62759.97. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.22%, while Small cap index was up by 0.09%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.34%, Industrials up by 0.86%, Oil & Gas up by 0.70%, FMCG up by 0.67% and Energy up by 0.37%, while Metal down by 0.43%, Utilities down by 0.30%, IT down by 0.29%, Auto down by 0.26% and Consumer Durables down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 1.89%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.10%, ICICI Bank up by 1.00%, Asian Paints up by 0.77% and ITC up by 0.46%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 1.06%, NTPC down by 0.94%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.76%, Tata Steel down by 0.75% and Sun Pharma down by 0.62% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Given the stronger-than-expected outturn in the July-September quarter with GDP growth at 6.3 per cent, Fitch Ratings has retained India's economic growth forecast at 7 per cent for the current fiscal (FY23), but cut projections for the next two financial years saying the country is not impervious to global developments. In its December edition of the Global Economic Outlook, Fitch projected India's GDP to grow at 7 per cent in the current fiscal, at a slower rate of 6.2 per cent in 2023-24 and at 6.9 per cent in 2024-25.

In September, Fitch projected 7 per cent growth for the current fiscal, followed by 6.7 per cent in 2023-24 and 7.1 per cent growth in 2024-25. It mentioned ‘India is expected to record one of the fastest growth rates among emerging markets in our Fitch20 coverage this year.’

Besides, it revised down the world GDP forecasts for 2023 as central banks intensify their fight against inflation and the outlook for China's property market deteriorates. It now expects the world GDP to grow by 1.4 per cent in 2023, revised down from 1.7 per cent projected in September. China 2023 growth forecast too has been cut to 4.1 per cent, from 4.5 per cent earlier, as prospects for a recovery in housebuilding fade.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18659.20, up by 16.45 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 18608.45 and 18668.30. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 2.12%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.95%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.05%, ICICI Bank up by 0.82% and Asian Paints up by 0.77%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 1.01%, Tata Motors down by 0.98%, NTPC down by 0.97%, Tata Steel down by 0.93% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.80% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 164.51 points or 0.59% to 27,721.36, Straits Times fell 2.81 points or 0.09% to 3,249.56,Taiwan Weighted lost 49.48 points or 0.34% to 14,679.40, Jakarta Composite plunged 67.48 points or 0.98% to 6,825.09, Shanghai Composite was down by 12.84 points or 0.40% to 3,199.69.

On the other hand, Hang Seng was up by 28.28 points or 0.15% to 19,469.46 and KOSPI rose 1.07 points or 0.04% to 2,394.23.