Equity indices trade near day’s high points

Indian equity indices magnified their gains and traded near day’s high points in late morning deals as market participants engaged to enlarge their positions.  Frontline gauges traded above their crucial 61000 (Sensex) and 18150 (Nifty) levels. Buying in index heavyweight HDFC twins, Tata steel, Kotak Mahindra and foreign funds inflow supported markets to trade higher. Sentiments got boost as a private report stated that the government is likely to increase the allocation for the ongoing Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes by as much as 20-30 per cent in the next Budget to spur domestic manufacturing and boost exports.  On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in Metal, Bankex, TECK, FMCG and IT, while selling was witnessed in Utilities, Realty, Power, Auto and PSU.

On the global front, Asian markets were mostly trading in green despite mostly negative cues from US markets overnight, with traders cautiously assessing recent economic data from across the globe and speculating about the policy stance of the Bank of Japan, which is expected to further shift away from its decade-long ultra-loose monetary policy. Back home, in stock specific development, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company dropped after the company reported a disappointing set of earnings for the third quarter of financial year 2022-23.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61028.18, up by 372.46 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 60569.19 and 61052.77. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.24%, while Small cap index up by 0.21%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.72%, Bankex up by 0.63%, TECK up by 0.56%, FMCG up by 0.54% and IT up by 0.53%, while Utilities down by 0.85%, Realty down by 0.80%, Power down by 0.62%, Auto down by 0.27% and PSU down by 0.13% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 2.56%, HDFC Bank up by 1.80%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.58%, HDFC up by 1.57% and Wipro up by 1.57%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.26%, Power Grid Corp down by 0.48%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.47%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.36% and SBI down by 0.35% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that toll road projects in the country are likely to see moderate to high single-digit growth in FY24 with moderation in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation. India's toll road projects saw a 17-20 per cent growth in FY23. Toll rates and traffic volumes are the two variables that decide toll collections.

According to the report, the rise in toll rate is linked to the WPI while the traffic volume is linked to underlying economic activity, primarily manufacturing, construction and mining. For the projects that were bid post 2008, the toll rate is revised annually in April at three per cent fixed rate plus 40 per cent of the change in WPI for December. Hike in toll rates for the projects bid prior to 2008 is 100 per cent linked to the March WPI (toll rate revision happens in July or September each year).

The report further said the WPI for December 2022 is 5.0 per cent (against 14.27 per cent in December 2021) translating into a toll rate increase of 5 per cent during FY2024 for the projects which are linked to three per cent fixed rate plus 40 per cent of the change in WPI.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18150.10, up by 96.80 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 18032.45 and 18157.85. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 2.60%, Hindalco up by 1.81%, HDFC Bank up by 1.72%, HDFC up by 1.63% and Wipro up by 1.51%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 2.52%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.36%, Tata Motors down by 1.28%, BPCL down by 1.00% and Eicher Motors down by 0.63% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 28.99 points or 0.13% to 21,606.63, Shanghai Composite strengthened 1.34 points or 0.04% to 3,225.58 Straits Times rose 5.38 points or 0.16% to 3,285.89 and Nikkei 225 surged 653.1 points or 2.5% to 26,791.78, while, KOSPI dropped 15.69 points or 0.66% to 2,363.70 and Jakarta Composite plunged 25.23 points or 0.37% to 6,742.11.