Domestic indices make positive start on Wednesday

Indian equity benchmarks opened at record highs on Wednesday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. Sensex and Nifty have surpassed their crucial 67,000 and 19,800 levels, respectively, as investors cheered Q1FY24 results from Indian firms. Markets are trading higher and soon gained traction to eke out gains of over 0.40% each in early deals on account of sustained buying by foreign investors. The provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed that foreign institutional investors (FII) have bought shares worth Rs 2,115.84 crore on July 18. Some support also came in as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) retained forecast for India's economic growth at 6.4 per cent for this fiscal year and 6.7 per cent for the next, as it's bullish that robust domestic demand will continue to support the region's recovery. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed as traders reacted to some upbeat earnings from major US financial giants, while also being concerned about global growth outlook amid China's economic troubles. Meanwhile, Indonesia and Malaysia are closed for the Islamic New Year holiday.

Back home, in stock specific developments, IndusInd Bank hit 52-week high on 32.5% YoY growth in Q1 net profit. Polycab India advanced after the company saw 82 per cent YoY surge in first-quarter profit, driven by higher sales in its mainstay wires and cables business.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 67069.30, up by 274.16 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 66903.36 and 67088.73. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.58%, while Small cap index was up by 0.70%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.78%, Power up by 1.53%, Consumer Durables up by 0.97%, PSU up by 0.93% and Healthcare up by 0.71%, while Auto down by 0.14% was the sole losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 4.38%, Indusind Bank up by 1.77%, Power Grid up by 1.47%, Infosys up by 1.27% and Sun Pharma up by 0.99%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.47%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.42%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.36%, Asian Paints down by 0.33% and TCS down by 0.15% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over the country’s economy, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its update to Asian Development Outlook has retained economic growth forecast of India at 6.4 per cent for the current financial year and 6.7 per cent for the next. It added that robust domestic demand will continue to support the region’s recovery. 

Earlier, in April, the ADB had projected that India’s economic growth is expected to moderate to 6.4 per cent in the current financial year due to tight monetary conditions and elevated oil prices. Besides, the Indian economy grew 7.2 per cent in the 2022-23 fiscal ended March 2023.

On inflation front, it said inflation is expected to continue to fall, approaching pre-pandemic levels as fuel and food prices decline. It forecast 3.6 per cent inflation this year for developing economies in Asia, and 3.4 per cent in 2024. It said ‘Asia and the Pacific continues to recover from the pandemic at a steady pace’.

It added ‘Domestic demand and services activity are driving growth, while many economies are also benefiting from a strong recovery in tourism. However, industrial activity and exports remain weak, and the outlook for global growth and demand next year has worsened’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19830.25, up by 81.00 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 19785.80 and 19832.40. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 4.30%, Indusind Bank up by 1.71%, Britannia Industries up by 1.50%, Power Grid up by 1.49% and Infosys up by 1.25%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 0.65%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.43%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.43%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.39% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.36% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 240.4 points or 1.28% to 18,775.32, Shanghai Composite weakened 8.01 points or 0.25% to 3,189.81 and KOSPI was down by 7.65 points or 0.29% to 2,599.97. On the other hand, Nikkei 225 surged 234.7 points or 0.72% to 32,728.59, Taiwan Weighted added 8.98 points or 0.05% to 17,236.89 and Straits Times was up by 10.16 points or 0.31% to 3,264.42.