Markets trade marginally higher in morning deals

Indian equity markets erased all of their losses and were trading marginally higher in morning deals as investors opted to buy beaten down but fundamentally strong stocks.  Traders were getting some encouragement with a report that ahead of the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Bengaluru, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reiterated that India's strong performance remains a bright spot in an uncertain global economy. Sentiments were further supported by Indian rupee appreciating 12 paise to 82.76 against the dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on increased selling of the US currency by exporters and banks. However, some cautiousness prevailed in markets as market participants received mixed signals from global markets after the release of FOMC minutes of its last policy review. On the sectoral front, Metal, PSU, FMCG, Oil & Gas and IT witnessed the maximum gains in trade, while Utilities, Consumer Durables, Realty, Power and Telecom remained the top losers on the BSE sectoral space.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as traders digested the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's most recent monetary policy meeting. Back home, in the stock specific developments, Sonata Software jumped after the company's North America arm inked an agreement to buy 100 per cent stake in Quant Systems Inc, a Texas based IT services corporation in an all-cash deal of $65 million. However, Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) tanked after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) accepted IndusInd Bank’s insolvency petition against the company and admitted it into the corporate insolvency resolution process.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59860.77, up by 115.79 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 59406.31 and 59960.04. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.14%, while Small cap index up by 0.32%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.33%, PSU up by 0.61%, FMCG up by 0.53%, Oil & Gas up by 0.31% and IT up by 0.31%, while Utilities down by 0.54%, Consumer Durables down by 0.50%, Realty down by 0.46%, Power down by 0.36% and Telecom down by 0.30% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.80%, ITC up by 1.42%, TCS up by 1.04%, Tata Motors up by 0.99% and HCL up by 0.91%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.73%, HDFC Bank down by 0.59%, Titan down by 0.51%, HDFC down by 0.48% and Indusind Bank down by 0.43% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) rate setting monetary policy committee (MPC) in its minutes has said though global growth outlook has improved in recent months, it is expected to decelerate during 2023. MPC, on February 8, had raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.50 per cent with immediate effect. The six-member panel decided to hike the repo rate by a mandate of four in favour (including RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das) while two were against it.

According to the minutes of the MPC meeting, it was felt that the outlook on global growth has improved in recent months, despite the persistence of geopolitical hostilities and the impact of monetary policy tightening by central banks across the world. Inflation globally is exhibiting some softening from elevated levels, prompting central banks to moderate the size and pace of rate actions, the members felt.

However, it said central banks are reiterating their commitment to bring down inflation close to their targets. Bond yields remain volatile. The US dollar has come off its recent peak, and equity markets have moved higher since the last MPC meeting. Besides, it noted weak external demand in major advanced economies (AEs), the rising incidence of protectionist policies, volatile capital flows and debt distress could, however, weigh adversely on prospects for emerging market economies (EMEs). On the domestic economy, it noted that demand has been sustained by strong discretionary spending.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17595.90, up by 41.60 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 17455.40 and 17620.05. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were UPL up by 1.95%, ITC up by 1.75%, Tata Steel up by 1.71%, Coal India up by 1.58% and JSW Steel up by 1.54%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.88%, Titan down by 0.78%, HDFC Bank down by 0.50%, HDFC down by 0.50% and HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.48% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 201.59 points or 1.31% to 15,620.36, Hang Seng advanced 110.95 points or 0.54% to 20,534.79, Shanghai Composite strengthened 2.22 points or 0.07% to 3,293.37, KOSPI increased 27.85 points or 1.15% to 2,445.53 and Jakarta Composite gained 6.62 points or 0.1% to 6,816.59. However, Straits Times fell 27.45 points or 0.84% to 3,272.59.