Benchmarks add gains in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks added gains in morning deals aided by broad-based gains across sectors. Sentiments remained positive amid fresh foreign fund inflows. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) turned buyers on Tuesday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,531.13 crore, according to exchange data. Some support also came with a private report that India and China will contribute to half of the world's growth this year, and it highlighted that Asia will remain a crucial growth engine with an estimated 4.5 per cent GDP expansion, making it a standout performer amidst the global economic slowdown. Traders also took a note of Fitch Ratings’ statement that even as the Union Budget has outlined a Rs 10 trillion capital expenditure plan for 2023-24 to spur growth, domestic companies are likely to see a 10% to 12% increase in capital expenditure in the coming fiscal. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight as the mood was cautious with traders awaiting further updates on the health of the banking sector

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57872.95, up by 259.23 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 57569.36 and 57900.74. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.83%, while Small cap index was up by 0.96%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.28%, Power up by 1.08%, Auto up by 1.01%, Telecom up by 0.97% and Industrials up by 0.96%, while Energy down by 0.12% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.68%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.56%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.25%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.15% and Hindustan Unilever up by 1.07%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 0.71%, Tata Steel down by 0.29%, Asian Paints down by 0.21%, Infosys down by 0.12% and Wipro down by 0.03% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Rating agency Crisil in its latest report has said that toll road operators are likely to log in lower top line growth at 9-11 per cent in 2023-24 (FY24) as compared to a robust 16-18 per cent rise in revenue this fiscal (FY23). It said the jump of 16-18 per cent in revenue this fiscal will be on the back of significant hike in toll rates due to elevated inflation, and healthy traffic growth on national highways.

However, it stated the revenue will moderate in FY24 due to falling inflation and a likely moderation in traffic growth.  The report, based on an analysis of 49 toll road assets across 14 states, also said that robust toll collections along with adequate balance sheet liquidity will support credit profiles of toll road operators.

According to Anand Kulkarni, a director at the agency, revenue of toll road operators will soar in fiscal 2023, driven by high toll rate hike of 10.5 per cent, which is linked to wholesale price inflation. Traffic growth at 5-7 per cent will also remain healthy, albeit on a low base of fiscal 2022. In fiscal 2024, traffic growth is expected to taper to 4-6 per cent but will remain higher than the four-year compound annual growth rate of 2-3 per cent seen through fiscal 2022.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17043.35, up by 91.65 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 16976.65 and 17044.20. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 6.21%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 5.09%, Eicher Motors up by 1.98%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.66% and Bajaj Finance up by 1.65%. On the flip side, UPL down by 1.10%, Reliance Industries down by 0.77%, Tata Steel down by 0.39%, Asian Paints down by 0.29% and Infosys down by 0.19% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 48.97 points or 0.31% to 15,750.45, Hang Seng advanced 378 points or 1.87% to 20,162.65, Jakarta Composite gained 53.38 points or 0.78% to 6,813.71, Straits Times rose 3.87 points or 0.12% to 3,259.41 and Nikkei 225 surged 239.77 points or 0.87% to 27,758.02.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite weakened 1.44 points or 0.04% to 3,243.94 and KOSPI dropped 0.36 points or 0.01% to 2,434.58.