Bourses trade at day’s high levels in late afternoon session

With healthy buying in other Asian and European markets, Indian equity markets traded at day’s high levels in late afternoon session. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index traded with gains of over half a percent each. Traders took support as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Jan Dhan Yojana-led interventions and digital transformation have revolutionised financial inclusion in the country, as more than 50 crore people have been brought into the formal banking system with cumulative deposits surpassing Rs 2 lakh crore. Under the scheme, the number of bank accounts grew 3.4-fold from 14.72 crore in March 2015, to 50.09 crore as on August 16, 2023. Besides, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai have discussed ways to promote trade and investments between the two countries.

On the global front, all Asian markets were trading higher as investors cheered China's stimulus to ease market unrest and drive economic growth. Chinese authorities announced a slew of measures over the weekend to bolster the country's equity markets and fuel an increase in spending. European markets were trading higher amid hopes that U.S. rate hikes are nearing an end.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65095.68, up by 209.17 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 64776.92 and 65213.45. There were 17 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.68%, while Small cap index was up by 0.81%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.16%, Industrials up by 1.03%, Realty up by 1.01%, PSU up by 1.01% and Auto was up by 0.92%, while IT down by 0.34%, TECK down by 0.33% and FMCG was down by 0.25% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were JIO Financial up by 3.67%, Power Grid up by 2.19%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.96%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.39% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.31%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.67%, HCL Tech down by 0.65%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.64%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.59% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, praising the Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) for their improved financial health and operational resilience in recent years, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has acknowledged the important role played by the sector in delivering credit to the unbanked and underserved areas.

Shaktikanta Das further advised that the NBFCs and HFCs need to remain alert to avoid any complacency during good times. The Governor highlighted the need for further strengthening the governance standards and assurance mechanisms viz. Compliance, Risk management and Internal audit in these entities.

The RBI Governor Das held a meeting on August 25, 2023 with the MD & CEOs of select large Non-Banking Financial Companies, including Government NBFCs and Housing Finance Companies in Mumbai. These Entities constitute nearly 50 per cent of the total assets of all NBFCs including HFCs. 

There were discussions on diversifying the resources for NBFCs and HFCs to contain the increasing reliance on bank borrowings; risks associated with high credit growth in retail segment mostly in unsecured; prioritising the upgradation of IT systems and cyber security and strengthening Balance Sheets with improved provisioning cover.

Monitoring of stressed exposures and slippages; ensuring robust liquidity and asset-liability management; ensuring reasonableness and transparency in pricing of credit; and adherence to Fair Practices Code including robust grievance redress mechanism were also part of the agenda.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19332.30, up by 66.50 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 19249.70 and 19366.85. There were 33 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JIO Financial up by 2.52%, Power Grid up by 2.19%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.87%, BPCL up by 1.83% and Cipla up by 1.61%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 0.90%, Adani Enterprises down by 0.83%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.63%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.62% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.58% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 545.71 points or 1.7% to 32,169.99, Hang Seng advanced 174.36 points or 0.96% to 18,130.74, Shanghai Composite strengthened 34.57 points or 1.12% to 3,098.64, Jakarta Composite gained 34.54 points or 0.5% to 6,929.98, Taiwan Weighted added 27.68 points or 0.17% to 16,509.26, Straits Times rose 27.25 points or 0.85% to 3,217.13 and KOSPI was up by 24.27 points or 0.95% to 2,543.41.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 4.95 points or 0.07% to 7,338.58, France’s CAC rose 56.13 points or 0.78% to 7,285.73 and Germany’s DAX was up by 89.72 points or 0.57% to 15,721.54.