Sensex, Nifty extend gains in early noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks extended their gains in early noon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty trading near their intraday high points, aided by heavy buying at Realty and Utilities counters, despite mixed cues from other Asian markets. Sentiments remained optimistic amid a private report stating that India's consumer inflation likely eased in March to 5.80% thanks to softer food price rises, falling below the Reserve Bank of India's upper tolerance limit for the first time this year. Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will hold a series of meetings with leaders and top CEOs of France and Italy during his three-day visit to these two countries to further boost trade and investment ties.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, even after Japan's consumer sentiment improved in March to the highest level in just over a year. The data from the Cabinet Office showed that the seasonally adjusted consumer confidence index rose to 33.9 in March from a stable reading of 31.3 in February. This was the highest reading since February 2022, when it was 35.5. All four sub-indexes registered increases in March. The indicator measuring the overall livelihood rose to 30.3, and that for income growth gained 1.3 points to 37.4.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60083.17, up by 250.20 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 59800.55 and 60089.66. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.40%, while Small cap index was up by 0.21%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 3.57%, Utilities up by 1.49%, Power up by 1.46%, Auto up by 1.19% and Oil & Gas up by 1.15%, while FMCG down by 0.03% was the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 5.78%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.68%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.44%, TCS up by 1.42% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.29%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.79%, Asian Paints down by 1.37%, Indusind Bank down by 0.86%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.30% and Axis Bank down by 0.24% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has said that unseasonal rains impacting rural demand, high-interest rates on auto loans and increased costs due to new regulatory norms are making the automotive industry cautious about the growth prospects in the current fiscal (FY24). The industry --- which witnessed the first full year without any impact of COVID-19 in FY23 after a gap of two years with double-digit growth of 21 per cent in overall retail sales -- is now set to clock tapered growth in the low single-digit due to a high base.

As per data shared by the dealers' body, the total domestic vehicle retail sales stood at 2,21,50,222 units in FY23 against 18,3,27,326 units in FY22. FADA said the untimely rains and hailstorms in north and central India have destroyed key rabi crops and delayed harvesting, (and) will have a negative impact on rural sales. It noted that Another concern for automakers is the high-interest rates on automobile loans.

FADA on its outlook for the low single-digit growth of vehicle sales said it is due to a high base, inflationary pressures, routine price hikes and regulatory changes. Additionally, it said, there have been predictions of the possibility of El Nino's arrival later this year, which could lead to poor monsoons, hampering rural India's growth potential.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17684.35, up by 85.20 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 17605.35 and 17685.90. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 5.78%, ONGC up by 3.32%, Adani Enterprises up by 2.39%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.67% and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone up by 1.61%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.76%, Asian Paints down by 1.35%, Tata Consumer Products down by 1.17%, Indusind Bank down by 0.81% and SBI Life Insurance down by 0.39% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 115.35 points or 0.42% to 27,633.66, Taiwan Weighted added 39.67 points or 0.25% to 15,876.17 and KOSPI increased 21.67 points or 0.86% to 2,512.08, while Straits Times fell 9.35 points or 0.28% to 3,291.13, Shanghai Composite weakened 12.78 points or 0.39% to 3,314.87 and Jakarta Composite plunged 47.26 points or 0.7% to 6,745.51.