Benchmarks remain in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained in green in morning deals, led by gains in Realty, Oil & Gas and Energy stocks. Sentiments remained positive with report that rains forecast for swathes of India this month should limit the damage to crops after a delayed monsoon and parched August, leaving the world’s most populous nation with sufficient supplies. Traders also took a note of survey showed that India's service sector continued to expand in August, albeit at a slower pace than in July. According to S&P Global, India's services purchasing managers' index (PMI) came out to be 60.1 in August, lower than the 62.3 recorded in July. However, in June it was 58.5. In August 2022, India's services PMI was 56.2. A reading above 50 shows expansion in the sector. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly lower as the spotlight remained on China and its efforts to stabilise its stuttering post-pandemic economy, while traders awaited the outcome of a policy meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65740.10, up by 111.96 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 65619.34 and 65806.00. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.89%, while Small cap index was up by 0.83%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.40%, Oil & Gas up by 1.33%, Energy up by 1.19%, Consumer Durables up by 0.85% and Capital Goods up by 0.79%, while Metal down by 0.31% and Utilities down by 0.20% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Company up by 1.08%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.86%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.86%, Reliance Industries up by 0.74% and Nestle up by 0.69%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 0.95%, Tata Steel down by 0.95%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.79%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.46% and JSW Steel down by 0.45% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, ratings agency ICRA in its report on the Indian commercial vehicle industry has said that Implementation of multiple proposed regulatory specifications can push up commercial vehicle prices by 10-12 per cent. It said the domestic automotive industry is undergoing rapid transformations, with increased focus by the government on implementing emission norms, safety systems and other standards that will bring the country at par with other major automotive markets.

It stated ‘Within the Indian automotive industry, the commercial vehicle (CV) sector has been the focus, given that CVs account for the major part of vehicular emissions in the country.’ It added mandatory standards towards driver comfort and safety can help improve the driving conditions and road safety to a large extent. Accordingly, it said there have been multiple regulatory interventions in the recent past, with the industry adopting stringent emission standards in a relatively short span of time, as well as driver safety and comfort standards such as advanced braking systems (ABS), speed limiting devices (SLD) and blowers in cabins, with a view to reducing vehicular emissions and improving road safety and driver comfort.

It pointed out that there are multiple proposed regulatory changes on the anvil such as the mandatory fitment of air-conditioners (ACs) in driver cabins which has already been announced with effect from January 1, 2025. It added ‘In addition, other standards like blind spot information systems, advanced emergency braking systems, roll over protection systems, driver alert systems etc. are proposed to improve road safety and minimise the occurrence as well as impact of road accidents.’ Besides, it said other regulations like mandatory fitment of fire detection, alarm and suppression systems have also been introduced for select segments like school buses and inter-city buses with effect from October 1, 2023.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19563.10, up by 34.30 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 19528.80 and 19584.50. There were 32 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Apollo Hospital up by 2.20%, JIO Financial Services up by 1.78%, BPCL up by 1.65%, Grasim Industries up by 1.49% and LTIMindtree up by 1.47%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.21%, Hindalco down by 0.91%, Tata Steel down by 0.91%, NTPC down by 0.91% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.86% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly lower; Hang Seng declined 284.24 points or 1.53% to 18,559.92, Taiwan Weighted lost 22.62 points or 0.13% to 16,767.07, Straits Times fell 8.36 points or 0.26% to 3,230.61, Shanghai Composite weakened 19.9 points or 0.63% to 3,157.16, Jakarta Composite plunged 8.42 points or 0.12% to 6,988.33 and KOSPI dropped 4.18 points or 0.16% to 2,580.37.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 31.97 points or 0.1% to 32,971.15.