Firm trade persists over Dalal Street

Firm trade continued over the Dalal Street in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty holding notable gains. Domestic sentiments remained optimistic as Finance ministry said that steps taken by the government has helped in bringing down the inflation to the RBI's tolerance level of below 6 per cent. The ministry also expressed confidence that prices of cereals, pulses and edible oils will soften further in the coming months. Adding more comfort among traders, a private report stated that the November inflation print of 5.88 per cent provides impetus to end the rate hike cycle. The street overlooked another private report stating that the credit demand from Indian exporters shrunk 25.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in October, showing the impact of slowing global trade. The merchandise exports fell below the $30 billion mark for the first time in the last 20 months.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as China's bank lending increased less than expected in November despite efforts of the central bank to prop up credit and support economic growth. The figures from the People's Bank of China showed that banks extended CNY 1.21 trillion in new yuan loans in November. This was weaker than forecast of CNY 1.4 trillion but it improved from CNY 615.2 billion in October.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62451.71, up by 321.14 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 62129.57 and 62505.07. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.09%, while Small cap index was up by 0.37%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.02%, TECK up by 0.84%, IT up by 0.79%, Auto up by 0.52% and Bankex up by 0.46%, while Realty down by 0.77%, Consumer Durables down by 0.25%, Metal down by 0.19%, Healthcare down by 0.16% and Oil & Gas down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.74%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.56%, HCL Technologies up by 1.39%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.29% and Indusind Bank up by 1.21%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 0.58%, Titan Company down by 0.38%, Nestle down by 0.29%, Asian Paints down by 0.24% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.06% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, ratings agency ICRA in its latest report has said that the all-India electricity demand is expected to grow 7 per cent to 1,480 billion units (BU) in the ongoing financial year (FY23) and grow at 5-5.5 per cent in FY24. In the preceding 2021-22 fiscal, the all-India power demand was at 1,380 BU.

The report said the estimates are based on the fact that all-India electricity demand increased 10.6 per cent year-on-year in first eight months of FY2023, amid a severe heat wave in north and central India.

It further said growing energy demand along with subdued capacity addition in the thermal segment is leading to an improvement in average thermal PLF (plant load factor) level for gencos/IPPs (power generation companies/independent power producers) at all-India level.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18577.95, up by 80.80 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 18490.20 and 18592.70. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 1.80%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.56%, HCL Technologies up by 1.40%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.29% and Tata Motors up by 1.26%. On the flip side, UPL down by 1.08%, Apollo Hospital down by 0.89%, BPCL down by 0.79%, Hindalco down by 0.56% and Tata Steel down by 0.54% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng increased 152.71 points or 0.78% to 19,616.34, Nikkei 225 surged 112.52 points or 0.4% to 27,954.85, Jakarta Composite soared 60.98 points or 0.91% to 6,795.43 and Straits Times advanced 24.92 points or 0.77% to 3,264.58, while KOSPI fell 0.62 points or 0.03% to 2,372.40, Shanghai Composite declined 2.86 points or 0.09% to 3,176.18 and Taiwan Weighted dropped 89.63 points or 0.61% to 14,522.96.