Sensex, Nifty manage to hold gains in early noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks were managing to hold gains in early afternoon deals, despite negative cues from other Asian markets. Domestic sentiments were positive as Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash said that the reforms taken by Government have resulted in increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows in the country. FDI inflows in India stood at $45.15 billion in 2014-2015 and have continuously increased since then, and India registered its highest ever annual FDI inflow of $84.84 billion (provisional figures) in the financial year 2021-22. Some relief also came as with more and more companies preferring to hire employees on project basis, a report has revealed that there is likely to be 90-110 lakh additions to the gig workforce by 2025. According to the report, companies have also started investing in gig work platforms and processes, which indicates how integral they are to the future of jobs growth in India.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red after Japan's gross domestic product contracted 0.8 percent on year in the third quarter of 2022. That exceeded expectations for a decline of 1.1 percent following the 4.6 percent increase in the previous three months. On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP fell 0.2 percent - again beating forecasts for a decline of 0.3 percent after climbing 1.1 percent in the three months prior.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62449.98, up by 39.30 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 62320.18 and 62633.56. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.22%, while Small cap index was up by 0.29%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.81%, Capital Goods up by 0.75%, Bankex up by 0.57%, Industrials up by 0.56% and PSU up by 0.43%, while Healthcare down by 0.68%, Realty down by 0.65%, Utilities down by 0.40%, Power down by 0.35% and IT down by 0.19% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 1.90%, Indusind Bank up by 1.64%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.09%, Tata Steel up by 1.03% and SBI up by 0.66%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 3.03%, Power Grid down by 1.60%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.47%, TCS down by 0.79% and ITC down by 0.62% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has said that Electric vehicle (EV) charging station business may require an investment to the tune of Rs 1.05 lakh crore by 2032 as the country is expected to need 2.30 lakh such facilities during this period. This massive investment will be required to cater to the growing demand for EVs, which is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39 per cent, and the resultant requirement of power.

The report stated that commercial EV charging stations are expected to be a major contributing factor in the penetration of these vehicles. It also believes EV penetration for the overall automobile industry would reach 40 per cent by FY32 from about 4 per cent this fiscal. According to the report, government's incentive schemes such as the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) and PLI (Production Linked Incentive) schemes for advanced chemistry cells, as well as its focus on expanding the footprint of the electric charging infrastructure along with sustained increase in the petrol and diesel prices could lead to secular growth in the demand for EVs.

Ind-Ra further said India would require around 63,000 charging stations and cumulative investments of Rs 269 billion (Rs 26,900 crore) for setting up the charging stations over the next five years to cater to the growing demand for power for operating EVs. In the next decade, in line with the growth in the EV sales, the agency believes the country could need 0.23 million charging stations, entailing a total investment of Rs 1.05 trillion by FY32. To estimate the number of charging stations that need to be set up and the investment required for the same, it has assessed the total power requirement, using its internal estimates of the EV sales for next 10 years and proportion of EV owners across vehicles, who would need access to charging stations.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18573.95, up by 13.45 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 18536.95 and 18625.00. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Axis Bank up by 1.94%, Eicher Motors up by 1.66%, Indusind Bank up by 1.62%, Hindalco up by 1.41% and Tata Steel up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 3.07%, Power Grid Corp down by 1.54%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.44%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.12% and Divi's Laboratories down by 0.95% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 111.97 points or 0.4% to 27,574.43, Taiwan Weighted dropped 76.97 points or 0.53% to 14,553.04, Jakarta Composite lost 22.07 points or 0.32% to 6,796.68, KOSPI fell 11.73 points or 0.49% to 2,371.08 and Shanghai Composite declined 1.96 points or 0.06% to 3,197.66, while Straits Times advanced 12.89 points or 0.4% to 3,238.34 and Hang Seng increased 622.16 points or 3.31% to 19,436.98.