Sensex, Nifty maintain gaining rally in early noon deals

Firm trade continued over the Dalal Street in early noon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty maintaining their gaining rally, aided by heavy buying at Telecom and Utilities counters. The markets were taking cues from the overall successful G20 Summit in New Delhi. The consensus on the New Delhi declaration by all G20 member countries despite a divided house given the ongoing war in Ukraine and the West’s sanctions on Russia, the ambitious rail-port economic corridor deal to connect India-Middle East-Europe, and the launch of Global Biofuel Alliance on the summit sidelines seemed to have attracted investors to bet in the market. The street overlooked reports that after six months of consistent buying, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have turned net sellers to pull out Rs 4,200 crore from equities in September, so far, on rising US bond yields, a stronger dollar and concerns over global economic growth.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, even as Taiwan's foreign trade surplus increased markedly in August from a year ago as imports fell much faster than exports. The preliminary figures from the Ministry of Finance revealed that the trade surplus climbed to $8.59 billion in August from $2.99 billion in the corresponding month last year. The surplus also grew from $8.47 billion in July.

Back home, on the sectoral front, auto industry stocks were in watch, as industry body the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in its latest report has showed that passenger vehicle wholesales in India rose 9 per cent year-on-year to 3,59,228 units in August 2023 from 3,28,376 units in August 2022. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66946.11, up by 347.20 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 66735.84 and 66989.32. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.02%, while Small cap index was up by 0.73%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.52%, Utilities up by 1.62%, Power up by 1.41%, Auto up by 1.12% and PSU up by 1.03%, while there were no losers on the BSE

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.58%, HCL Technologies up by 1.25%, JSW Steel up by 1.21%, Tata Steel up by 1.16% and SBI up by 1.06%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 0.39%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.26% and Sun Pharma down by 0.06% were the few losers.

Meanwhile, Indian Biogas Association (IBA) has said that Biofuel alliance can generate opportunities worth $500 billion in the next three years for G20 countries. It said Biofuel alliance can be a win-win situation for G20 countries and the environment. It said Biogas can generate an opportunity of $200 billion, considering the least investment required, compared to other energy generation options and easy availability of raw materials. It pointed out that Bioenergy/Biogas, in principle, has the potential to replace fossil fuels completely, especially to decarbonize the transport sector.

IBA further said in 2016, the G20 adopted a voluntary action plan on renewable energy, which committed members to increase the share of renewable energy in their energy mix. India significantly increased its share of renewable energy in the overall energy mix and grew at a CAGR of roughly 22 per cent in the last six years. India has ramped-up solar energy 20-fold in the last decade. During this period, solar energy and wind energy roughly grew at a CAGR of 38 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively. It stated that an initial investment of $100 billion in financial support will be required to trigger the biofuel industry, five billion for each G20 partner in the next three years.

It said this anchor investment will have further multiplier effects on private investments and the production of biofuels, especially biogas. Creating a favorable regulatory environment in the G20 countries and sharing technological advancements will be key to the success of this biofuel alliance. It opined that promoting international cooperation through best practices followed across G20 nations will be key to the success of the biofuel alliance.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19941.85, up by 121.90 points or 0.62% after trading in a range of 19865.35 and 19948.65. There were 43 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone up by 6.55%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.02%, Apollo Hospital up by 1.96%, UPL up by 1.71% and Adani Enterprises up by 1.65%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 0.65%, Coal India down by 0.64%, Cipla down by 0.57%, Indusind Bank down by 0.45% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.33% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Shanghai Composite strengthened 27.76 points or 0.88% to 3,144.48, Jakarta Composite gained 21.7 points or 0.31% to 6,946.48, KOSPI increased 9.20 points or 0.36% to 2,556.88 and Straits Times rose 4.53 points or 0.14% to 3,212.28, while Nikkei 225 slipped 139.08 points or 0.43% to 32,467.76, Taiwan Weighted lost 143.07 points or 0.87% to 16,432.95 and Hang Seng declined 206.13 points or 1.15% to 17,995.94.