Indices remain higher in early noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained higher in early noon deals, amid positive cues from other Asian markets along with buying at Banking and Utilities counters. Traders were positive as Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said 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. Besides, Union Minister Jitendra Singh has said that StartUps in India grew 300 times in the last 9 years. There were just around 350 StartUps before 2014, but after rolled out of special StartUp scheme in 2016, there has been a quantum jump in StartUps to more than 90,000 with more than 100 Unicorns. Some support came amid a report stating that mutual funds remained bullish on the Indian equities in 2022-23 and invested Rs 1.82 lakh crore largely due to a strong interest from retail investors and the correction in the market that led to reasonable valuation.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green 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 59945.88, up by 99.37 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 59937.91 and 60267.68. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.01%, while Small cap index was up by 0.40%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.37%, Utilities up by 1.14%, Metal up by 0.73%, Oil & Gas up by 0.69% and Auto up by 0.57%, while IT down by 1.34%, TECK down by 1.31%, Capital Goods down by 0.53%, Industrials down by 0.13% and Consumer Durables down by 0.11% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 4.69%, SBI up by 1.43%, ICICI Bank up by 1.39%, ITC up by 1.23% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.98%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.45%, TCS down by 1.61%, HCL Technologies down by 1.20%, Wipro down by 0.87% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.80% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India's structural reforms approach has ensured that it remains a globally attractive destination for investment supported by the rising domestic consumption of the middle class, robust infrastructure push by the government, sustainable fiscal health and a vibrant class of domestic institutional investors. She also said India is well-positioned in the global economy, allowing it to grow briskly, possibly faster, in the coming years due to conscious policy choices in the last nine years.

Sitharaman said India's journey from the 10th largest economy in dollar terms in 2014 to becoming the world's 5th largest economy has been one of steady acceleration in growth amidst global and domestic challenges. She also said India has integrated its economy with global trade and financial flows while ensuring a higher standard of living and improved quality of life for Indian households.

Noting that policymakers had no fixed template to fall back on when dealing with the pandemic-induced economic setbacks, navigating the ongoing geo-political crisis, and tightening financial conditions, Sitharaman said the last few years have been unique for India since the domestic financial institutions' balance sheet problems and the external shocks since 2020 required structural reforms to build foundational resilience. Decoupling from the standard economic policy prescriptions while developing a model unique to the Indian context has enabled India to stand out today and establish a firm path to recovery and economic growth.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17661.85, up by 37.80 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 17660.40 and 17748.75. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 4.72%, Eicher Motors up by 2.51%, JSW Steel up by 2.16%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.00% and SBI up by 1.42%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.48%, TCS down by 1.64%, HCL Technologies down by 1.17%, Wipro down by 0.92% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.81% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 289.71 points or 1.04% to 27,923.37, Hang Seng advanced 70.76 points or 0.35% to 20,401.96, Taiwan Weighted added 37.71 points or 0.24% to 15,913.88, KOSPI increased 35.78 points or 1.4% to 2,547.86, Jakarta Composite gained 2.29 points or 0.03% to 6,773.53 and Straits Times rose 0.57 points or 0.02% to 3,295.00, while Shanghai Composite weakened 7.65 points or 0.23% to 3,307.71.