Bourses trade in fine fettle in late afternoon session

The Indian benchmarks traded in fine fettle in late afternoon session amid value buying. IT and banking stocks were witnessing buying interest. Investors continued to take support from India’s services sector data. As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose at 61.0 in September from 60.1 in August. Further, the S&P Global India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- surged to 61.0 in September as against 60.9 in August. Meanwhile, RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee has kickstarted its 3-day meeting and is expected to keep key rates on hold when it announces its decision on Friday. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green after oil prices tumbled and bond yields on both sides of the Atlantic fell from their highest levels for more than a decade amid signs that U.S. economic growth is slowing. As concerns around inflation and interest rate rises ease, investors looked ahead to the release of key U.S. nonfarm payrolls report on Friday for further direction. European markets were trading mostly in red as a bond selloff passed after the release of weak U.S. data.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65651.05, up by 425.01 points or 0.65% after trading in a range of 65443.34 and 65753.20. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.09%, while Small cap index was up by 0.54%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.56%, Industrials up by 1.17%, Consumer Durables up by 1.01%, Consumer Disc up by 0.90% and IT was up by 0.80%, while Utilities down by 0.47%, Power down by 0.44%, Healthcare down by 0.33%, Telecom down by 0.12% and FMCG was down by 0.09% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 2.57%, Titan Company up by 1.64%, TCS up by 1.32%, SBI up by 1.27% and Infosys up by 1.03%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.31%, NTPC down by 0.94%, Sun Pharma down by 0.57%, HCL Tech down by 0.46% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.38% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s services sector growth strengthened in the month of September, as a positive demand environment boosted intakes of new business and output volumes. As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose at 61.0 in September from 60.1 in August. Further, the S&P Global India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- surged to 61.0 in September as against 60.9 in August.

The latest data showed a substantial increase in new business placed with Indian service providers, one that was the second-fastest since June 2010. Besides the rise in total sales, there was an upturn in demand from abroad, particularly from clients based in Asia, Europe and North America. The overall rate of growth was marked and one of the quickest seen in the series history (since September 2014), despite slowing to a three-month low.

On the price front, input cost inflation retreated substantially in September. The rate of increase was equal to its long-run average and one of the weakest since late-2010. Some firms opted to pass on to their clients additional cost increases by raising selling prices. Meanwhile, confidence in the outlook improved, with survey members forecasting healthy market dynamics and buoyant demand for the year ahead. The level of positive sentiment was at its highest for over nine years.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19546.30, up by 110.20 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 19487.30 and 19576.95. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Larsen & Toubro up by 2.69%, Titan Company up by 1.62%, TCS up by 1.29%, SBI up by 1.19% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.15%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.36%, NTPC down by 0.94%, Divi's Lab down by 0.75%, Sun Pharma down by 0.74% and Cipla down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 548.48 points or 1.76% to 31,075.36, Taiwan Weighted added 180.14 points or 1.09% to 16,453.52, Hang Seng advanced 18.03 points or 0.1% to 17,213.87, Straits Times rose 13.83 points or 0.44% to 3,161.22 and Jakarta Composite was up by 4.21 points or 0.06% to 6,890.79. On the flip side, KOSPI was down by 2.09 points or 0.09% to 2,403.60.

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 20.26 points or 0.27% to 7,432.56, France’s CAC advanced 2.76 points or 0.04% to 6,997.57 and Germany’s DAX gained 17.21 points or 0.13% to 15,118.86.