Markets trade firm in early deals; IT stocks lead

Indian equity benchmarks made optimistic start on Wednesday on strong global cues amid hopes of a less hawkish Federal Reserve. Markets are trading firm in early deals with gains of around half a percent each on account of healthy buying in IT, Capital Goods and TECK stocks. Steady foreign flows aided the sentiments on the domestic markets. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 619.92 crore on December 13, according to the provisional data available on the NSE. Traders took encouragement as the government said an amount of Rs 60.46 crore has been received in tax from entities for transactions in virtual digital assets (VDAs), including cryptocurrencies, since the introduction of TDS provisions in July. Adding more optimism, industry body PHDCCI said India can scale up its merchandise exports to G20 nations to $500 billion by 2030 from the current $212 billion and significantly reduce trade deficit. Market participants overlooked the Asian Development Bank’s report stating that developing Asia's economic expansion next year is expected to be slower than previously projected as a global slowdown and the prolonged war in Ukraine weigh on the region.

Most of the Asian markets are trading higher following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, as data showing a tamer-than-expected increase in U.S. consumer prices helped ease concerns about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the US Fed's rate decision later in the day. Japanese stock market is significantly higher as traders reacted to domestic data that showed machinery orders from Japanese firms exceeding forecasts in October.

Back home, banking stocks were in focus as finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said banks have written off bad loans worth Rs 10,09,511 crore during the last five financial years. She said the non-performing assets (NPAs), including those in respect of which full provisioning has been made on completion of four years, are removed from the balance sheet of the bank concerned by way of write-off. In stock specific development, Tata Motors is in limelight as the automaker would hike prices of commercial vehicles by up to 2 per cent from January to partially offset steep rise in raw materials.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62803.46, up by 270.16 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 62674.18 and 62835.11. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.31%, while Small cap index was up by 0.38%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.16%, Capital Goods up by 0.79%, TECK up by 0.78%, Metal up by 0.78%, Healthcare up by 0.67%, while Telecom down by 0.34% was the sole losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 1.82%, Wipro up by 1.46%, TCS up by 1.34%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.31% and Power Grid Corp up by 1.25%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 0.74%, Nestle down by 0.03% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.03% were the few losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over India’s exports growth, industry body -- the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) has said that the country can scale up its merchandise exports to G20 nations to $500 billion by 2030 from the current $212 billion in 2021-22 and significantly reduce trade deficit. It added that as the fastest growing economy in the G20 nations, India will play a significant role to convert uncertainties into opportunities.

PHDCCI President Saket Dalmia said ‘India's Presidency would be impactful for bringing stability at the most crucial juncture of geo-political conflicts, high inflation and slowing economic growth’. India's enhanced integration with G20 countries will reduce its trade deficit with the grouping by more than 50 per cent by 2030 from the current level of $107 billion. At the 'Amrit Kaal' of India's 100 years of Independence, he said the industry body has identified 75 products which currently account for $175 billion (around 40 per cent) in India's total exports.

World imports of these products comprise more than $3,700 billion but India's share in these items is less than 5 per cent. PHDCCI said as 50 per cent of India's exports are to the G20 countries, there is an immense potential to scale up shipments. It further said India has signed 13 free trade agreements (FTAs) and 6 preferential trade agreements (PTAs) with various countries, of which only 3 FTAs are with the G20 nations (Australia, Japan and Republic of Korea). Among the G20 countries, India holds trade surplus only with 8 economies.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18685.65, up by 77.65 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 18651.65 and 18696.10. There were 45 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 1.75%, Hindalco up by 1.74%, Eicher Motors up by 1.72%, Wipro up by 1.43% and SBI up by 1.40%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 0.72%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.19%, Nestle down by 0.10%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.03% and Adani Enterprises down by 0.03% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 222.52 points or 0.80% to 28,177.37, Straits Times rose 8.88 points or 0.27% to 3,280.16, Hang Seng gained 153.26 points or 0.78% to 19,749.46, Taiwan Weighted jumped 201.43 points or 1.39% to 14,724.39, KOSPI advanced 20.21 points or 0.85% to 2,392.61 and Shanghai Composite was up by 4.26 points or 0.13% to 3,180.59, while Jakarta Composite was down by 2.10 points or 0.03% to 6,808.22.