Domestic indices magnify gains in late morning deals

Domestic equity markets magnified their gains and were trading with gains of around 0.40 percent in late morning deals as market participants indulged in enlarging their position. Hectic buying in auto industry related stocks helped the markets to extend their gains. Positive cues from global markets supported domestic sentiments. Sentiments got boost as higher-than-expected US retail sales data eased worries about a recession without raising fears of a Federal Reserve rate hike next week. Further, traders were getting some encouragement as Financial services secretary Ajay Seth has said the total revenue from corporate and excise tax collections is expected to be in line with budget estimates for the current fiscal year (FY24).   

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as China August activity data largely beat expectations. China’s August retail sales and factory output beat expectations, but the print for fixed asset investment came in slightly below expected. Home prices slipped 0.1% in August from the year before. Back home, traders were seen pilling up position in Auto, Telecom, TECK, IT and Healthcare. In the stock specific development, Siyaram Silk Mills rallied after it increased share buyback price from Rs 650 per equity share to Rs 720 per equity share.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 67795.70, up by 276.70 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 67614.42 and 67827.84. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.44%, while Small cap index up by 0.46%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.29%, Telecom up by 1.23%, TECK up by 0.64%, IT up by 0.64% and Healthcare up by 0.49%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.58%, FMCG down by 0.43%, Realty down by 0.40%, Utilities down by 0.10% and Power down by 0.06% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 1.66%, HCL up by 1.26%, HDFC Bank up by 1.24%, Wipro up by 0.86% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.78%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.27%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.18%, Tata Steel down by 1.14%, Power Grid down by 0.95% and NTPC down by 0.46% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) asked for the reduction in Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates from 28 per cent to 18 per cent for entry-level two-wheelers that is the 100cc and 125cc segment, and said the segment has not recovered from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. 

FADA President Manish Raj Singhania said in the ongoing fiscal so far, while the retail sales of total vehicles have grown by around 7 per cent, the entry-level two-wheeler segment is yet to witness the robust growth seen. He said ‘although the two-wheelers segment experienced year-on-year growth, we are still 20 per cent behind the pre-COVID levels.’

According to FADA data, in the April to August period of FY24, two-wheeler sales were at 65,15,914 units as against 62,35,642 units, a growth of 4.49 per cent. Total vehicle sales across categories in the April-August period of the ongoing fiscal stood at 91,97,045 units, as compared to 86,15,337 units in the corresponding period last fiscal, a growth of 6.75 per cent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 20182.90, up by 79.80 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 20129.70 and 20192.95. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 4.97%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.21%, Grasim Industries up by 1.81%, Tata Motors up by 1.59% and HCL up by 1.35%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.30%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.22%, Tata Steel down by 1.10%, Britannia down by 1.07% and Tata Consumer down by 1.06% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 187.28 points or 1.04% to 18,235.20, Taiwan Weighted added 39.01 points or 0.23% to 16,846.57, Straits Times rose 34.05 points or 1.05% to 3,283.56, Jakarta Composite gained 27.4 points or 0.39% to 6,986.73, KOSPI increased 30.57 points or 1.19% to 2,603.46 and Nikkei 225 surged 428.42 points or 1.29% to 33,596.52. However, Shanghai Composite weakened 13.15 points or 0.42% to 3,113.40.