Sensex, Nifty trade near neutral lines

Indian equity benchmarks were trading near neutral lines in early afternoon deals, amid mixed cues from other Asian markets. In a volatile session, Sensex and Nifty trimmed losses to trade flat, aided by buying at IT and Metal counters. Traders got support with a private report stating that the central government is likely to further consolidate its fiscal deficit by 50 basis points (bps) to 5.9 per cent in FY24 from 6.4 per cent in FY23. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest report has showed that India Inc raised $5.20 billion via external commercial borrowings (ECBs) during November 2022 as against $1.43 billion in October 2022, higher by 3.63 times.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, as Japan's leading index decreased in November to the lowest level in nearly two years. The preliminary figures of a survey by the Cabinet Office showed that the leading index, which measures future economic activity, dropped to 97.6 in November from 98.6 in the previous month. Further, this was the lowest score since December 2020, when it was 96.5.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60163.58, up by 48.10 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 59805.78 and 60364.77. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell by 0.26%, while Small cap index was up by 0.27%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.72%, Metal up by 0.61%, Bankex up by 0.47%, Capital Goods up by 0.23% and Industrials up by 0.22%, while Telecom down by 1.00%, Utilities down by 0.86%, FMCG down by 0.79%, Power down by 0.66% and Auto down by 0.63% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC Bank up by 1.57%, TCS up by 1.26%, Sun Pharma up by 1.03%, HDFC up by 0.85% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.83%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 4.25%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.84%, NTPC down by 1.34%, Nestle down by 1.10% and Reliance Industries down by 0.70% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that the revenue of organised jewellery retailers is likely to grow by 20 per cent in 2022-23 due to tightening regulations, change in consumer preferences towards branded jewellery and planned expansion. It said the organised jewellery retailers in India continue to outpace the industry over the medium term on the back of industry tailwinds in the form of an accelerated shift in market demand from unorganised retailers and planned expansion of retail presence. 

The report further said the domestic gold jewellery retail industry is likely to record a healthy growth of 15 per cent in FY23, owing to robust growth recorded during H1 of this fiscal (up 35 per cent), mainly on account of Akshaya Tritiya, a festival considered auspicious for buying gold, and a low base, which was impacted by the pandemic last year. The demand growth in H2 FY23 is likely to remain muted due to a high base on account of pent-up demand in the third quarter of FY22. It noted that while the ongoing festive and wedding season sees healthy demand, evolving domestic inflation scenario, slow rural economic recovery and soft consumer sentiments remain the key demand constraints.

It further said that the industry growth is likely to moderate to 5 per cent y-o-y in FY24 due to the high base of FY23, coupled with evolving macro-economic scenario. Nevertheless, it said the revenue of organised jewellery retailers is likely to grow at a much higher rate of 10 per cent y-o-y in FY24, supported by the accelerated shift in market share to the organised sector driven by tightening regulations, change in consumer preferences towards branded jewellery and planned expansion of organised jewellers into tier II and III cities.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17913.70, down by 0.45 points after trading in a range of 17824.35 and 17976.35. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 2.55%, Hindalco up by 2.09%, HDFC Bank up by 1.65%, TCS up by 1.30% and JSW Steel up by 1.06%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 4.52%, Cipla down by 2.60%, Eicher Motors down by 2.14%, Divi's Laboratories down by 2.02% and Apollo Hospital down by 2.01% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 270.44 points or 1.03% to 26,446.00, Hang Seng increased 262.33 points or 1.23% to 21,593.79, KOSPI rose 8.22 points or 0.35% to 2,359.53 and Straits Times advanced 3.78 points or 0.12% to 3,266.69, while Shanghai Composite declined 0.68 points or 0.02% to 3,168.83, Jakarta Composite lost 33.96 points or 0.51% to 6,588.54 and Taiwan Weighted dropped 51.52 points or 0.35% to 14,751.44.