Bourses widen gains in late afternoon session

The Indian equity benchmarks widened their gains in late afternoon session tracking positive cues from European markets. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index traded with gains of over a percent respectively. There were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE. The overall market breadth was positive as 2525 shares were advancing and 1084 were declining, while 153 shares were unchanged on the BSE. Traders took support of private report that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its 2023-24 GDP growth forecast for India for the second time in three months, taking it closer to the 6.5 percent predicted by Indian authorities. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as oil prices slipped following the previous session's strong rally, and the dollar and bond yields retreated on Fed rate pause hopes. European markets were trading higher as dovish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers bolstered sentiment a day after the conflict in the Middle East sparked a rush to safe assets.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66177.35, up by 664.96 points or 1.02% after trading in a range of 65662.27 and 66177.35. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.20%, while Small cap index was up by 1.23%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 4.57%, Metal up by 2.77%, Telecom up by 2.33%, PSU up by 1.86% and Basic Materials was up by 1.62%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 2.70%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.38%, JSW Steel up by 2.23%, ICICI Bank up by 2.03% and Tata Motors up by 2.02%. On the flip side, TCS down by 0.19%, Asian Paints down by 0.09% and Indusind Bank down by 0.02% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India and Saudi Arabia have decided to promote investments in each other’s country in the new and renewable energy sector. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Saudi Arabia in the fields of Electrical Interconnections, Green / Clean Hydrogen and Supply Chains was signed.

This MoU aims to establish a general framework for cooperation between the two countries in the field of electrical interconnection; exchange of electricity during peak times and emergencies; co-development of projects; co-production of green / clean hydrogen and renewable energy; and also establishing secure, reliable and resilient supply chains of materials used in green / clean hydrogen and the renewable energy sector.

Meanwhile, the Indo-Saudi partnership has strengthened considerably in recent years due to sustained engagements at various levels. The visit further consolidated the strategic partnership between the two countries and opened doors for joint collaborations and investments in new and renewable energy sectors.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19714.60, up by 202.25 points or 1.04% after trading in a range of 19565.45 and 19717.80. There were 45 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 5.06%, Adani Ports up by 4.15%, Adani Enterprises up by 2.90%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.75% and Hindalco up by 2.72%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.67%, Cipla down by 0.35%, Indusind Bank down by 0.30%, TCS down by 0.24% and Asian Paints down by 0.06% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 147.33 points or 0.83% to 17,664.73, Jakarta Composite gained 48.9 points or 0.59% to 6,932.32, Straits Times rose 33.51 points or 1.06% to 3,200.02 and Nikkei 225 surged 751.86 points or 2.37% to 31,746.53, while Shanghai Composite weakened 21.68 points or 0.70% to 3,075.24 and KOSPI dropped 6.15 points or 0.26% to 2,402.58.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 119.87 points or 1.6% to 7,612.08, France’s CAC rose 107.41 points or 1.53% to 7,128.81 and Germany’s DAX was up by 257.68 points or 1.7% to 15,385.79.