Benchmarks trade in green in late morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks were trading in green in late morning deals, led by gains in Consumer Durables, Utilities and Power stocks. Sentiments turned positive with the SBI's research report 'Ecowrap' stating that the withdrawal of Rs 2000 currency note is likely to be a non-event but it will have a favourable bearing on liquidity, bank deposits and interest rates. It expects that almost the entire amount of Rs 3.6 lakh crore in the form of Rs 2000 will come back to the banking system. Traders took a note of Moody’s Investors Service in its latest research report said that India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has crossed $3.5 trillion in 2022 and will be the fastest-growing G-20 economy over the next few years, but reform and policy barriers could hamper investment. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red after another round of talks to raise the U.S. government's debt ceiling ended with no progress. Investors preferred to remain on the sidelines ahead of the release of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62113.44, up by 131.65 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 61730.53 and 62124.12. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.46%, while Small cap index was up by 0.48%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.34%, Utilities up by 1.31%, Power up by 1.24%, Oil & Gas up by 0.68% and Capital Goods up by 0.56%, while Metal down by 0.15% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid Corp up by 1.20%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.13%, Titan Co up by 0.91%, ITC up by 0.85% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.83%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 0.44%, HDFC Bank down by 0.29%, HDFC down by 0.27%, Tata Steel down by 0.24% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.17% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Icra in its latest report has said the organised jewellery retailers are expected to clock 12-15 per cent revenue growth in current financial year (FY24), mainly aided by expansions planned by a majority of large players. It stated organised jewellers are expected to record revenue growth of 12-15 per cent in current fiscal despite a high base and evolving macro-economic environment.

Icra expects industry growth to moderate to 8-10 per cent YoY (in value terms) in FY24 with volume growth likely to remain constrained by expected volatility in gold prices amidst global macro-economic uncertainties and evolving domestic inflation. However, it said the strong cultural affinity of Indians to gold is likely to support festive and wedding demand for gold jewellery.

In terms of profitability, it said operating margin is likely to remain comfortable and stabilise at around 7.5-8 per cent over the next two years. Besides, it added with the debt protection metrics and liquidity position of players in the sample set expected to remain comfortable, supported by higher earnings on the back of improved scale of operations, the industry outlook is stable.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18379.30, up by 31.30 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 18269.70 and 18380.85. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid Corp up by 1.17%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.13%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.13%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.09% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.06%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 1.24%, Hindalco down by 1.07%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.06%, Divi's Lab down by 0.58% and Indusind Bank down by 0.54% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 50.71 points or 0.31% to 16,137.32, Hang Seng declined 164.75 points or 0.85% to 19,266.50, Shanghai Composite weakened 13.16 points or 0.41% to 3,233.08, Jakarta Composite plunged 7.78 points or 0.12% to 6,728.90, Straits Times fell 5.64 points or 0.18% to 3,212.44 and Nikkei 225 slipped 168.96 points or 0.55% to 30,788.81.

On the flip side, KOSPI increased 1.02 points or 0.04% to 2,568.57.