Key gauges remain in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some gains but continued to trade in green in morning deals, led by gains in IT, TECK and Auto stocks. Traders took some support with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the country's services exports are doing extremely well and going by the current trend these outbound shipments would register about 20 per cent growth in this fiscal (FY23) and cross the $300 billion target despite global economic uncertainties. Some support also came as economic think-tank NCAER said business confidence has recovered from the lows of the pre-pandemic (201920) and the following two pandemic years. The NCAER-NSE Business Confidence Index (BCI) was higher at 126.6 in the third quarter of 202223 than the year-ago level of 124.4. However, gains remain capped as some concern came with provisional data available on the NSE showing that foreign institutional investors (FII) have net-sold shares worth Rs 219.87 crore on January 23, 2023.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed amid bets for less-aggressive rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. Most of the other regional markets are closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, including South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61074.39, up by 132.72 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 60974.67 and 61266.06. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.11%, while Small cap index was down by 0.01%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.88%, TECK up by 0.49%, Auto up by 0.25%, FMCG up by 0.22% and Consumer Durables up by 0.22%, while Telecom down by 0.75%, Metal down by 0.59%, Energy down by 0.39%, Realty down by 0.38% and Oil & Gas down by 0.35% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 2.19%, Asian Paints up by 1.27%, HDFC Bank up by 1.05%, HCL Technologies up by 0.84% and Infosys up by 0.83%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 1.75%, Power Grid Corporation down by 0.91%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.78%, Sun Pharma down by 0.59% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in its latest data has showed that Investment in the Indian capital markets through participatory notes slightly dropped to Rs 96,292 crore at the end of December 2022 from the preceding month on higher valuation of domestic markets. Before the decline, the investment through the route had been on an increasing trend since July because of a slump in prices of oil and other commodities and relative outperformance of Indian equity markets.

According to Sebi data, the value of P-note investments in Indian markets -- equity, debt, and hybrid securities -- stood at Rs 96,292 crore at December-end, as compared to Rs 99,315 crore at the end of November. Of the total Rs 96,292 crore invested through this route till December 2022, Rs 86,351 crore was invested in equities, Rs 9,855 crore in debt, and Rs 86 crore in hybrid securities.

The investment level through the route was at Rs 97,784 crore at October-end, Rs 88,813 crore at September-end, Rs 84,810 crore at August-end, Rs 75,725 crore at the end of July. It was at Rs 80,092 crore at the end of June. Investment via P-notes normally moves in line with FPI investment. When there is a global risk to the environment, investment through P-notes increases and vice-versa.

Participatory notes (P-notes) are issued by registered Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) to overseas investors who wish to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly. They, however, need to go through a due diligence process.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18150.20, up by 31.65 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 18123.60 and 18201.25. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 2.23%, Asian Paints up by 1.39%, HDFC Bank up by 1.05%, Cipla up by 1.04% and HCL Technologies up by 0.84%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 1.60%, Power Grid Corporation down by 0.96%, JSW Steel down by 0.82%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.75% and Grasim Industries down by 0.71% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 415.08 points or 1.54% to 27,321.12, while Jakarta Composite plunged 24.67 points or 0.36% to 6,850.26.