Markets trade marginally higher in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made cautious start on Monday. Soon, markets turned volatile and struggling for direction following mixed global cues as investors looked ahead to key economic data due this week as well as the release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting slated to be released Wednesday for directional cues. Now, domestic indices managed to keep their head above neutral lines with Sensex and Nifty garnering gains in the range of 0.20-30%. Adding some optimism, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said India's exports are expected to grow by 3-5 per cent to $435-445 billion in this fiscal. Meanwhile, the rupee gained 16 paise to 82.66 against the U.S. dollar in early trade as the American currency retreated from its elevated levels. On the sectoral front, auto industry stocks were in focus as in a bid to give a boost to semiconductor manufacturing in the country, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the government will come up with a program very soon to put the country on a good semiconductor journey for the next 10 years. In stock specific development, Dilip Buildcon rose after the company bagged an order worth Rs 1,947 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61174.16, up by 171.59 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 60957.81 and 61228.51. 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 0.29%, while Small cap index was down by 0.17%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were TECK up by 0.59%, IT up by 0.57%, FMCG up by 0.33%, Bankex up by 0.22%, while Healthcare down by 0.63%, Utilities down by 0.57%, Oil & Gas down by 0.42%, Energy down by 0.39%, Realty down by 0.37% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Technologies up by 1.33%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.03%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.92%, Power Grid up by 0.87% and Infosys up by 0.80%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 0.42%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.38%, Asian Paints down by 0.34%, Nestle down by 0.29% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.23% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over growth of Indian economy, former Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar has said that the country is likely to clock 6 percent growth rate next fiscal (FY24) and it can persevere with a high growth rate because of several reforms undertaken during the last eight years by the government. He further said major risks going forward will emerge from a synchronized downturn in the North American and European economies. He said ‘These will have to be tackled through careful policy measures designed to support our export efforts and at the same time improve the flow of private investment both from domestic sources as well as from foreign sources’.

Regarding on high inflation, he said the Reserve Bank has said that it will ensure that inflation rate is brought under control. He noted ‘also a good winter crop will help in keeping the food prices low’. The RBI lowered the consumer price inflation (CPI) forecast to 6.5 per cent for the current fiscal from 6.7 per cent. India's retail inflation in January was 6.52 per cent.

On India's rising trade deficit with China, he suggested that New Delhi should re-engage with Beijing on finding greater market opportunities and access in the Chinese market. He highlighted that ‘There are several products which India can export more to China. That will require a considered re-engagement’. According to Kumar, it would be feasible for India to restrict imports from China because most imported products are quite essential imports.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17982.30, up by 38.10 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 17902.50 and 17983.35. There were 34 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HCL Technologies up by 1.36%, Power Grid up by 1.22%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.95%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.87% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.85%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 6.43%, Cipla down by 5.15%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 2.09%, Tata Consumer Products down by 0.72% and BPCL down by 0.47% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 169.16 points or 0.81% to 20,888.97, Taiwan Weighted added 68.61 points or 0.44% to 15,548.31, Shanghai Composite strengthened 31.78 points or 0.98% to 3,255.80, Nikkei 225 surged 8.14 points or 0.03% to 27,521.27 and KOSPI increased 7.41 points or 0.3% to 2,458.62. On the other hand, Straits Times fell 10.65 points or 0.32% to 3,317.72 and Jakarta Composite was down by 16.94 points or 0.25% to 6,878.77.