Firm trade continues over Dalal Street

Indian equity benchmarks came off day’s high points but continued their firm trade in early afternoon session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading higher, aided by buying in Banking and Auto stocks. Sentiments were positive, as the Retirement fund body, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in its latest ‘Provisional Estimate of Net Payroll’ data report has showed that India created 1625711 new jobs in the month of November 2022 as against revised figure of Rs 1114250 in October 2022. Gains got trimmed, as some cautiousness came with a private report stating that the Indian government is set to tap the brakes on a torrid pace of capital investment growth in the coming fiscal year as a slowing economy limits spending power by weakening tax revenue.

On the global front, the Japanese stock market is significantly higher, as members of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Board agreed that the country's economy has continued to pick up steam. Back home, the apparel industry stocks were in watch as Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) said Japan offers huge business opportunities for Indian apparel exporters and the industry should explore that market.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60922.61, up by 300.84 points or 0.50% after trading in a range of 60761.88 and 61113.27. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.27%, while Small cap index was down by 0.20%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.80%, Auto up by 0.77%, PSU up by 0.73%, TECK up by 0.71% and IT up by 0.69%, while Realty down by 0.61%, Power down by 0.17%, Capital Goods down by 0.12% and Industrials down by 0.10% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid Corporation of India up by 2.02%, Sun Pharma up by 1.83%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.61%, Tata Motors up by 1.48% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.36%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 2.93%, NTPC down by 0.92%, Titan Company down by 0.67%, Reliance Industries down by 0.32% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.25% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that India, the world's third largest energy consumer, is increasing domestic oil and gas exploration, diversifying import basket, switching to alternate sources and using gas and green hydrogen as a pathway to energy transition and security. He said India is projected to contribute fourth of the world's energy demand growth in next couple of decades.

The minister said while the nation is dependent on imports to meet 85 per cent of its oil needs and 50 per cent of its natural gas requirements, India is mixing ethanol extracted from sugarcane and other agri produce in petrol to cut overseas reliance. It will achieve 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol by 2025. He said ‘our energy security strategy is based on four pillars of diversification of energy supplies, increasing exploration and production footprint, using alternate energy sources, and meeting energy transition through the gas-based economy, green hydrogen and EVs.’

He pointed out that India increased the number of its crude oil suppliers from 27 countries in 2006-07 to 39 in 2021-22, adding new suppliers like Columbia, Russia, Libya, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea etc. He said crude oil extracted from below the earth's surface is refined to produce fuels like petrol and diesel. Natural gas too is found below the surface and is used to generate electricity, make fertilizer and convert into CNG to run automobiles and piped to homes for cooking purposes. He added that energy prices globally shot up following Russia's invasion of Ukraine but consumers in India were largely insulated as state-owned retailers did not raise prices commensurate with the spurt.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18109.20, up by 81.55 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 18063.45 and 18162.60. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid Corporation of India up by 1.95%, Sun Pharma up by 1.74%, Eicher Motors up by 1.63%, Divi's Laboratories up by 1.56% and Hindustan Unilever up by 1.55%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 2.96%, JSW Steel down by 1.14%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.12%, Grasim Industries down by 0.97% and NTPC down by 0.95% were the top losers.

The Japanese stock market is trading significantly higher as Nikkei 225 surged 352.51 points or 1.31% to 26,906.04, with most markets closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.