Benchmarks continue to trade higher in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade higher in morning deals, helped by firm global market trends and continuous foreign fund inflows. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) further bought equities worth Rs 882.52 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Some support also came with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that India's structural reforms approach has ensured that it remains a globally attractive destination for investment and the country is well-positioned in the global economy, allowing it to grow briskly, possibly faster, in the coming years. Some optimism also came as India Ratings said the share of combined capex of states in the GDP may improve marginally to 2.8% in FY24 from 2.5% in FY23.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green after a mixed session on Wall Street dominated by speculation the Federal Reserve may tap the brakes again on financial markets and the economy by raising interest rates. Sentiment also got a boost from a lower-than-expected reading on consumer price inflation from China, which gives the PBOC leeway for more supportive measures to help along the economic reopening.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60186.86, up by 340.35 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 59968.30 and 60267.68. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.37%, while Small cap index was up by 0.61%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.62%, Bankex up by 1.38%, Realty up by 1.27%, Power up by 1.04% and Metal up by 0.88%, while TECK down by 0.10%, IT down by 0.08% and Capital Goods down by 0.04% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 4.30%, SBI up by 1.39%, ICICI Bank up by 1.22%, ITC up by 1.17% and Sun Pharma up by 1.14%. On the flip side, TCS down by 0.61%, Asian Paints down by 0.43%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.27%, Wipro down by 0.20% and Tata Motors down by 0.13% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come out with detailed norms for outsourcing of IT services by banks, NBFCs and regulated financial sector entities to ensure that such arrangements do not undermine their responsibilities and obligations to customers. In its 'Master Direction on Outsourcing of Information Technology Services', RBI said that Regulated Entities (REs) have been extensively leveraging IT and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) to support their business models, products and services offered to their customers.

In February last year, the central bank proposed the issuance of suitable regulatory guidelines on outsourcing of IT services with an aim to ensure effective management of attendant risks. Later, draft norms were issued. According to RBI, the underlying principle of the directions is to ensure that outsourcing arrangements neither diminish REs' ability to fulfil its obligations to customers nor impede effective supervision by the central bank.

With a view to provide REs adequate time to comply with the requirements, the norms will come into effect from October 1, 2023. A RE shall take steps to ensure that the service provider employs the same high standard of care in performing the services as would have been employed by the RE, if the same activity was not outsourced. As per the central bank, a RE should not engage an IT service provider that would result in reputation of RE being compromised or weakened.

It stated notwithstanding whether the service provider is located in India or abroad, REs should ensure that outsourcing should neither impede nor interfere with the ability of the RE to effectively oversee and manage its activities. Further, REs have been told to evaluate the need for outsourcing of IT services based on comprehensive assessment of attendant benefits, risks and availability of commensurate processes to manage those risks.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17726.95, up by 102.90 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 17663.80 and 17748.75. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 4.31%, JSW Steel up by 2.11%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.44%, SBI up by 1.44% and Eicher Motors up by 1.20%. On the flip side, TCS down by 0.53%, Asian Paints down by 0.45%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.28%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.27% and Wipro down by 0.23% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 15.73 points or 0.1% to 15,891.90, Hang Seng advanced 13.72 points or 0.07% to 20,344.92, KOSPI increased 34.62 points or 1.38% to 2,546.70, Jakarta Composite gained 1.62 points or 0.02% to 6,772.86 and Nikkei 225 surged 351.92 points or 1.27% to 27,985.58.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite weakened 11.55 points or 0.35% to 3,303.81 and Straits Times fell 3.95 points or 0.12% to 3,290.48.