Benchmarks continue to trade in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green in morning deals, amid fresh foreign fund inflows and buying in Power, Utilities and Banking counters. A positive trend in the US markets on Monday also contributed to the domestic benchmark indices optimism. Traders also found solace with private report stating that the globally elevated interest rates are set to buoy the returns from the Reserve Bank's foreign investments to the tune of $6-8 billion this fiscal, which will help the monetary authority pay higher dividend to the government and also buffer up the forex reserves a la the FY21 fashion. Some support also came as Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry’s (Ficci’s) latest quarterly survey on manufacturing reveals that sentiment is positive during the first quarter (Q1). On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as traders seem cautious and reluctant to make significant moves amid data showing a slower than expected pace of economic growth in China in the second quarter, raising concerns about the outlook for global growth.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66799.59, up by 209.66 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 66696.07 and 66985.50. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.07%, while Small cap index was down by 0.11%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.34%, Utilities up by 1.16%, Bankex up by 0.54%, Industrials up by 0.52% and Capital Goods up by 0.51%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.64%, Healthcare down by 0.34%, Metal down by 0.16% and Realty down by 0.11% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 1.41%, ICICI Bank up by 1.24%, NTPC up by 1.07%, Axis Bank up by 0.99% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.65%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 1.63%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.95%, Tata Motors down by 0.90%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.79% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.65% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in a positive move for exporters, the government has simplified norms for exporters to avail benefits of an advance authorisation scheme under which free imports of input materials are allowed. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) implements this scheme under the Foreign Trade Policy. The eligibility of inputs is determined by sector-specific norms committees based on input-output norms.

To make the norms fixation process more efficient, the DGFT said that it has created a user-friendly and searchable database of ad-hoc norms fixed in the previous years. These norms can be used by any exporter without approaching the norms committee. The database is hosted on the DGFT website and allows users to search using export or import item descriptions, technical characteristics, or Indian tariff classification codes. It added ‘This trade facilitation measure simplifies the advance authorisation and norms fixation process, resulting in shorter turnaround times for exporters, improved ease of doing business, and reduced compliance burden’. 

Explaining the process, the directorate stated that to access the database, an exporter or public can visit the DGFT website and if an ad-hoc norm matches the item description, the applicant can apply for the scheme under the 'No-Norm Repeat' basis. This option, it said, allows users to obtain an advance authorisation without approaching the committee again, reducing the workload and enabling faster processing. 

The commerce ministry is taking a series of measures to promote ease of doing business for exporters, which are hit by global demand slowdown and war between Russia and Ukraine. India's exports contracted by 22 per cent, the steepest decline in the last three years, to $32.97 billion in June on account of global demand slowdown, especially in the Western markets like the US and Europe.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19769.70, up by 58.25 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 19738.85 and 19811.25. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 3.52%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 1.91%, Infosys up by 1.39%, ICICI Bank up by 1.31% and NTPC up by 1.10%. On the flip side, LTIMindtree down by 2.65%, Titan Company down by 1.63%, Divi's Lab down by 1.17%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.16% and Grasim Industries down by 1.08% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 102.42 points or 0.59% to 17,231.87, Hang Seng declined 420.49 points or 2.21% to 18,993.29, Shanghai Composite weakened 11.37 points or 0.36% to 3,198.26, KOSPI dropped 10.86 points or 0.42% to 2,608.14, Jakarta Composite plunged 33.72 points or 0.49% to 6,833.42 and Straits Times fell 5.6 points or 0.17% to 3,248.83.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was up by 53.24 points or 0.16% to 32,444.50.