Markets extend previous session’s gains with positive opening

With a positive opening, Indian equity benchmarks have extended their previous session's gains and are trading higher by over quarter percent in early deals on Wednesday on firm global cues. Sentiments got boost as traders became optimistic on the financial sector’s outlook following U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s reassurances to safeguard against further banking crises. Traders were also getting some encouragement as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its article has said unlike the global economy, India would not slow down and maintain the pace of expansion achieved in 2022-23. It said the NSO's end-February data release indicates that the Indian economy is intrinsically better positioned than many parts of the world to head into a challenging year ahead, mainly because of its demonstrated resilience and its reliance on domestic drivers.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading higher following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight. The US markets ended higher on Tuesday amid easing concerns about turmoil in the financial sector following recent steps taken to rescue distressed banks in the U.S. and Europe. Back home, Tyre industry related stocks are in focus as a private report stated domestic tyre industry is expected to witness double-digit growth next fiscal with the automobile industry back on full swing.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58261.39, up by 186.71 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 58238.27 and 58418.78. 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 0.43%, while Small cap index up by 0.64%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.89%, Industrials up by 0.87%, Capital Goods up by 0.86%, IT up by 0.82% and Utilities up by 0.66%, while FMCG down by 0.09% was only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.76%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.71%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.47%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.40% and Tata Motors up by 1.14%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 0.85%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.81%, ITC down by 0.54%, HDFC Bank down by 0.47% and NTPC down by 0.42% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its article has said that unlike the global economy, India would not slow down and maintain the pace of expansion achieved in 2022-23. It mentioned ‘We remain optimistic about India, whatever the odds.’

It said the NSO's end-February data release indicates that the Indian economy is intrinsically better positioned than many parts of the world to head into a challenging year ahead, mainly because of its demonstrated resilience and its reliance on domestic drivers. Moreover, it stated even as global growth is set to slow down or even enter a recession in 2023 as global financial markets wager, India has emerged from the pandemic years stronger than initially thought, with a steady gathering of momentum since the second quarter of the current financial year.

Besides, it said ‘Year-on-year growth rates do not reflect this pick-up of pace because by construction they are saddled with statistical base effects, and instead suggest a sequential slowing down through successive quarters of 2022-23 to an unsuspecting reader.’ The article has been authored by a team led by RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17148.70, up by 41.20 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 17141.10 and 17207.25. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI Life up by 2.40%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.92%, Tata Consumer up by 1.87%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.59% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.26%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 1.43%, BPCL down by 1.16%, Power Grid down by 0.92%, Cipla down by 0.78% and HDFC Bank down by 0.69% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading higher; Taiwan Weighted added 224.17 points or 1.45% to 15,737.62, Hang Seng advanced 372.96 points or 1.94% to 19,631.72, Shanghai Composite strengthened 8.2 points or 0.25% to 3,263.85, KOSPI increased 20.9 points or 0.88% to 2,409.25, Straits Times rose 46.52 points or 1.47% to 3,220.45 and Nikkei 225 surged 526.4 points or 1.95% to 27,472.07.