Domestic indices continue to trade higher in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices continued to trade in green in late morning deals on account of buying by funds and retail investors. Meanwhile, broader indices on the BSE were trading higher in the range of 0.90-1.00%. Traders were getting some encouragement on report that India is on the path to become a solid global player due to robust financial regulations. India was in a sweet spot to grow robustly, despite global turmoil and monsoon risks to growth, and to do so, developing credit markets was essential. However, upside was capped as the rupee depreciated 21 paise to 82.92 against the US dollar amid the withdrawal of foreign funds from domestic equities and firm crude oil prices. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in Realty, Oil & Gas, Energy, Consumer Durables and IT, while selling was witnessed in Metal, Utilities and Bankex.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red after South Korea’s inflation rate for August came in higher than expected at 3.4%. Back home, in the stock specific developments, Railway-linked stocks extended gains from the previous session. IRFC jumped over 9 percent, Rail Vikas Nigam rose over 2 percent. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65772.44, up by 144.30 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 65619.34 and 65806.67. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.93%, while Small cap index up by 0.98%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.43%, Oil & Gas up by 1.33%, Energy up by 1.20%, Consumer Durables up by 0.92% and IT up by 0.90%, while Metal down by 0.32%, Utilities down by 0.26% and Bankex down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan up by 1.17%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.04%, Tata Motors up by 1.00%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.91% and Nestle up by 0.88%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 1.10%, Tata Steel down by 0.99%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.69%, JSW Steel down by 0.62% and HDFC Bank down by 0.45% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has said that automobile retail sales in India rose by 9 per cent in August 2023 aided by sales growth in all segments, including passenger vehicles and two wheelers. The total retail sales across segments rose to 18,18,647 units in August 2023, up 9 per cent, from 16,74,162 units in August 2022.

FADA further said passenger vehicle registrations increased by 7 per cent to 3,15,153 units in August 2023 from 2,95,842 units in August 2022. Similarly, two-wheeler sales saw a jump of 6 per cent to 12,54,444 units as compared with 11,80,230 units in the same month last year. Commercial vehicle registrations increased by 3 per cent to 75,294 units in August 2023 from 72,940 units in the same month last year. Tractor sales jumped 14 per cent to 73,849 units in August 2023 as against 65,018 units in the year-ago period. Three-wheeler retail sales saw a jump of 66 per cent to 99,907 units in August 2023 from 60,132 units in August 2022.

FADA President Manish Raj Singhania has stated that in the passenger vehicle segment, improved vehicle supply, bolstered by expanded customer schemes, has maintained positive market dynamics. It said despite positive growth, consumer sentiment remained ambivalent, impacting conversion rates and intensifying competition among key players. As the Indian automobile industry enters September, the outlook remains cautiously optimistic, shaped by a multitude of factors that vary across vehicle segments.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19573.30, up by 44.50 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 19528.80 and 19586.00. There were 34 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Apollo Hospital up by 3.01%, JIO Financial up by 2.19%, BPCL up by 1.83%, LTIMindtree up by 1.61% and ONGC up by 1.28%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.20%, Tata Steel down by 1.06%, NTPC down by 1.06%, Hindalco down by 0.91% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.79% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 254.93 points or 1.37% to 18,589.23, Straits Times fell 9.01 points or 0.28% to 3,229.96, Shanghai Composite weakened 17.86 points or 0.57% to 3,159.20, Jakarta Composite plunged 8.42 points or 0.12% to 6,988.33 and KOSPI dropped 4.50 points or 0.17% to 2,580.05. However, Nikkei 225 surged 37.08 points or 0.11% to 32,976.26 and Taiwan Weighted added 0.25 points to 16,789.94.