Benchmarks remain in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained in green in morning deals, led by gains in Metal, Oil & Gas and Telecom stocks. Sentiments remained positive with a private survey showing that India's manufacturing sector activity continued to expand in August, with the S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rising to a three-month high of 58.6. The gauge of manufacturing sector activity in August is above the key level of 50, which separates expansion in activity from contraction, for the 26th month in a row. Some support also came as data showing that the output of eight core industries rose 8 per cent in July 2023 from 4.8 per cent in July 2022. This is due to a low base effect and positive growth in all the eight sectors during the month. However, growth for the month of July is slightly lower than that of 8.3% in June 2023.  Meanwhile, government data showed the Centre's fiscal deficit in the first four months of 2023-24 touched 33.9 per cent of the full-year target. On the global front, Asian markets are trading in green as investors await U.S. employment data due later in the day for clues on the Fed's monetary policy outlook. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65015.60, up by 184.19 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 64818.37 and 65062.59. 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 0.18%, while Small cap index was up by 0.56%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.11%, Oil & Gas up by 1.58%, Telecom up by 1.54%, Energy up by 1.39% and PSU up by 1.30%, while Healthcare down by 0.22% and Banking down by 0.01% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 4.39%, JSW Steel up by 2.49%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.39%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.12% and Tata Motors up by 1.04%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 0.83%, ICICI Bank down by 0.32%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.29%, Axis Bank down by 0.26% and Nestle down by 0.19% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with better performance by agriculture and financial sectors, India has recorded an economic growth rate of 7.8 per cent in the April-June quarter (Q1) of 2023-24. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the January-March quarter of 2022-23 was 6.1 per cent and 4.5 per cent during October-December. The GDP expanded by 13.1 per cent in the April-June quarter of 2022-23. India remained the fastest-growing major economy as China posted a 6.3 per cent growth in April-June 2023.

The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, said real GDP or GDP at constant (2011-12) prices in Q1 2023-24 is estimated to attain a level of Rs 40.37 lakh crore, as against Rs 37.44 lakh crore in Q1 2022-23, showing a growth of 7.8 per cent as compared to 13.1 per cent in Q1 2022-23. The nominal GDP or GDP at current prices in the first quarter of 2023-24 has been estimated at Rs 70.67 lakh crore, as against Rs 65.42 lakh crore in the year-ago period, showing a growth of 8 per cent as compared to 27.7 per cent in Q1 2022-23.

According to the NSO data, the agriculture sector gross value added (GVA) recorded growth of 3.5 per cent, up from 2.4 per cent in the April-June quarter of 2022-23. The expansion in ‘financial, real estate and professional services’ GVA was 12.2 per cent, up from 8.5 per cent in the year-ago quarter. However, the GVA in the manufacturing sector decelerated to 4.7 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal compared to 6.1 per cent in the year-ago period. The output (GVA) in the ‘mining and quarrying’ decelerated to 5.8 per cent in the first quarter from 9.5 per cent a year ago, ‘electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services’ to 2.9 per cent from 14.9 per cent, and ‘construction’ to 7.9 per cent from 16 per cent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19310.75, up by 56.95 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 19255.70 and 19339.75. There were 32 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 4.79%, Tata Steel up by 4.15%, JIO Financial Services up by 3.17%, Hindalco up by 2.99% and Coal India up by 2.54%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.15%, Britannia Industries down by 0.88%, ICICI Bank down by 0.54%, Nestle down by 0.51% and Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.48% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading in green; Taiwan Weighted added 26.71 points or 0.16% to 16,661.22, Shanghai Composite strengthened 7.31 points or 0.23% to 3,127.19, Jakarta Composite gained 16.16 points or 0.23% to 6,969.42, KOSPI increased 8.25 points or 0.32% to 2,564.52 and Nikkei 225 surged 155.95 points or 0.48% to 32,775.29.