Benchmarks extend opening gains; Bajaj Finance leads gainers

Domestic equity indices, shrugging off muted cues from global markets and concerns over rising oil prices, continued their northward journey of previous session with positive start on Wednesday. Benchmarks soon added some gains on the Street and are trading firm in early deals with gains of around half a percent each as value buying persist in the markets. Foreign fund inflows also aided domestic sentiments. The National Stock Exchange’s provisional data showed foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth Rs 321.93 crores on April 3. Traders took encouragement as gross direct tax collection in 2022-23 rose by around 20 per cent to Rs 19.68 lakh crore, exceeding the government's revised collection target. Besides, investors are eyeing the Services PMI data to be out later in the day. In stock specific developments, Bajaj Finance rallied on reporting 20 percent year-on-year rise in new loan bookings in the quarter ended March. ONGC climbed after the government cut windfall tax on domestically produced crude oil to nil from Rs. 3,500 a ton effective April 4.

On the global front, most of the Asian markets are trading in green in thin trade as markets in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong are closed for the Qingming Festival holiday. Traders keeping eye on the release of the US Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday. Broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight dampened the sentiments amid lingering concerns about the global economic outlook. Worries about any aggressive tightening by the US Fed faded after data showed a drop in U.S. job openings, and a slump in U.S. manufacturing activity. Besides, the services sector in Japan continued to expand in March, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed a services PMI score of 55.0.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59412.84, up by 306.40 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 59094.40 and 59417.69. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.13%, while Small cap index was up by 0.62%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.84%, Realty up by 0.56%, Capital Goods up by 0.42%, Industrials up by 0.39%, FMCG up by 0.36%, while Power down by 0.67%, Utilities down by 0.65%, Auto down by 0.47%, PSU down by 0.32%, Metal down by 0.32% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 4.02%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.56%, HDFC up by 2.33%, HDFC Bank up by 2.29% and Titan Company up by 1.20%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 1.05%, Indusind Bank down by 1.02%, ICICI Bank down by 0.87%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.85% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the World Bank in its latest ‘India Development Update’ (IDU) has slashed the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast to 6.3% against the earlier estimate of 6.6 per cent in 2023-24 (FY24). It said growth is likely to be constrained by slower consumption growth and challenging external conditions, it said, adding that government consumption is projected to grow at a slower pace due to the withdrawal of pandemic-related fiscal support measures. The report said India was one of the fastest-growing economies in the world despite significant challenges remaining in the global environment.

Auguste Tano Kouame, World Bank’s Country Director in India, said ‘The Indian economy continues to show strong resilience to external shocks. Notwithstanding external pressures, India’s service exports have continued to increase, and the current-account deficit is narrowing’. The IDU said although headline inflation is elevated, it is projected to decline to an average of 5.2 per cent in 2023-24, amid easing global commodity prices and some moderation in domestic demand. It said ‘The Reserve Bank of India has withdrawn accommodative measures to rein in inflation by hiking the policy interest rate. India’s financial sector also remains strong, buoyed by improvements in asset quality and robust private-sector credit growth’.

With regard to inflation, the World Bank Report expects it to ease to 5.2 per cent, against 6.6 per cent in the current fiscal. It also said the central government is likely to meet its fiscal deficit target of 5.9 per cent of GDP in 2023-24 and combined with consolidation in state government deficits, and the general government deficit is also projected to decline. It said as a result, the debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to stabilize. On the external front, the current account deficit is projected to narrow to 2.1 per cent of GDP from an estimated 3 per cent in the current financial year on the back of robust service exports and a narrowing merchandise trade deficit.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17481.55, up by 83.50 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 17402.70 and 17481.90. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 3.77%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.42%, HDFC Bank up by 2.41%, HDFC up by 2.36% and Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.81%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 1.64%, Hindalco down by 1.20%, Indusind Bank down by 1.04%, HCL Technologies down by 1.02% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.80% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Straits Times rose 15.16 points or 0.46% to 3,326.28, Jakarta Composite gained 11.47 points or 0.17% to 6,844.65 and KOSPI increased 9.25 points or 0.37% to 2,489.76, while Nikkei 225 slipped 464.09 points or 1.64% to 27,823.33.