Domestic equity indices maintained their gains and were trading higher by over half a percent in late morning deals as market participants indulged in enlarging their position. Hectic buying in Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki and Infosys companies’ stocks helped markets to maintain gains. Positive cues from global markets supported domestic sentiments. Traders were getting encouragement amid hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will halt its campaign of interest-rate hikes. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said that the central bank needs to proceed carefully to balance the risk of tightening too much. Besides, traders also took some solace with private report stating that Indian retail inflation likely eased to 5.50% last month (September), within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) tolerance band, on moderating food price rises and government subsidies that offset a surge in the cost of crude oil.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, following positive cues from US markets overnight, despite pressures from the attack on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas. Back home, all the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in green led by Realty, Telecom, Auto, TECK and PSU. In the stock specific development, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders soared after the company signed Letter of Intent (LOI) with an European client for construction of 6 firms and 4 optional units of 7500 DWT (Deadweight Tonnage) MultiPurpose Hybrid Power Vessels.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65893.99, up by 381.60 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 65662.27 and 65906.98. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.82%, while Small cap index up by 1.19%, while there were on losers.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 4.44%, Telecom up by 2.19%, Auto up by 1.12%, TECK up by 1.09% and PSU up by 1.06%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 2.50%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.56%, Tata Motors up by 1.42%, Infosys up by 1.38% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.02%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 0.93%, TCS down by 0.26%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.01% and Asian Paints down by 0.01% were the only losers.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that achieving the net zero emissions target by 2070 is ‘little too long-term’, indicating that the country may achieve the milestone ahead of the deadline. Under the net zero target, India will completely switch to renewables by 2070.
The minister explained that energy transition in India will first be from fossil-based to cleaner fuels and further to renewables. He also noted that global uncertainty is a dynamic driver for energy transition.
Talking on the Israel-Palestine conflict, he said such crises make the energy transition faster towards biofuel, renewables etc. Israel came under attack by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023 and since then, both sides are engaged in fighting in which scores of people have died. Puri also talked about the cut in production of crude oil by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). He noted that in the next two decades, 25 per cent of world energy demand will come from India.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19624.40, up by 112.05 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 19565.45 and 19627.70. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 3.37%, Adani Ports up by 2.90%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.57%, UPL up by 1.93% and Adani Enterprises up by 1.90%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.00%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.76%, TCS down by 0.34%, Cipla down by 0.25% and Britannia down by 0.14% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 222.01 points or 1.27% to 17,739.41, Jakarta Composite gained 49.26 points or 0.71% to 6,940.72, Straits Times rose 28.34 points or 0.89% to 3,194.85, Nikkei 225 surged 798.29 points or 2.58% to 31,792.96. However, Shanghai Composite weakened 14.83 points or 0.48% to 3,082.09 and KOSPI dropped 1.21 points or 0.05% to 2,407.52.
