Domestic indices trade higher in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made positive start tracking gains in global markets. Domestic indices are trading higher in early deals as investors cheered over the India’s November CPI numbers. Retail inflation fell to an 11-month low of 5.88 per cent in November, mainly due to softening prices of food items. This is the first time in 11 months that the retail inflation print has come within the RBI's tolerance band of 4 (+/- 2) per cent. However, upside remained capped as data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed that India's industrial output, as per the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), contracted by 4 percent in October. Foreign fund outflows also weighted down on the sentiments. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 138.81 crore on December 12, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading with modest gains in cautious trade after a New York Fed consumer expectations' survey showed inflation expectations decreased at the short, medium, and longer terms in November. Concerns surrounding China and caution ahead of U.S. consumer inflation data due out later in the day served to limit regional gains to some extent. Back home, aviation industry stocks were in focus as the rating firm ICRA said the earnings recovery for domestic airlines will be slow-paced due to elevated ATF prices in addition to the rupee depreciation against the US dollar. In stock specific development, shares of BGR Energy soared after the company bagged Rs 330 crore order from Indian Oil Corporation.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62243.57, up by 113.00 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 62129.57 and 62300.67. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.04%, while Small cap index was up by 0.37%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.46%, Industrials up by 0.39%, Bankex up by 0.32%, Capital Goods up by 0.21%, PSU up by 0.17%, while Realty down by 0.48%, Consumer Durables down by 0.26%, Healthcare down by 0.23%, Oil & Gas down by 0.05%, FMCG down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.34%, Indusind Bank up by 1.19%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.89%, Axis Bank up by 0.83% and HCL Technologies up by 0.72%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 0.45%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.32%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.29%, Sun Pharma down by 0.26% and Titan Company down by 0.19% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said India and the UAE which have inked a landmark trade deal have seen a veritable transformation in their ties which are now beginning to have a broader ripple impact. He emphasized that they want to use this relationship to shape the changing world. He stated a defining decision of this transformation is the signing of the bilateral trade pact which led to such effective results and speaks volumes for the bilateral relationship.

He mentioned ‘The fact that we were able to conclude the comprehensive economic cooperation agreement so quickly and has led to such effective results thereafter, speaks really volumes for the relationship. We're now moving into new areas.’ India and the UAE signed UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in February this year.

Further, he stated ‘Today, our discussions are about space, education, artificial intelligence, health and startups. The old, traditional energy trade investments continue, but a new agenda is also coming into being.’ Currently, the UAE is India's 3rd largest trade partner. It is India's 2nd largest export market.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18524.15, up by 27.00 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 18490.20 and 18540.85. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 1.46%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.30%, Indusind Bank up by 1.26%, Tata Motors up by 1.18% and Axis Bank up by 0.83%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 1.15%, UPL down by 0.78%, BPCL down by 0.67%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.50% and Cipla down by 0.45% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 88.36 points or 0.32% to 27,930.69, Straits Times rose 33.37 points or 1.03% to 3,273.03, Hang Seng jumped 108.25 points or 0.56% to 19,571.88 and Jakarta Composite was up by 46.63 points or 0.69% to 6,781.08. On the other hand, Taiwan Weighted fell 35.85 points or 0.25% to 14,576.74, KOSPI declined 1.27 points or 0.05% to 2,371.75 and Shanghai Composite was down by 6.68 points or 0.21% to 3,172.36.