Benchmarks continue to trade higher in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade higher in morning deals, amid a recovery in Asian markets. The domestic indices were up led by gains in PSU, Power and Utilities stocks. Traders took support with India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant’s statement that the country is poised to become a $5 trillion economy. He added that the government has pushed the limit on infrastructure. Traders overlooked exchange data showing that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 7,702.53 crore on Thursday. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green after crude prices fell more than $2 a barrel overnight amid easing Middle East fears. Israel has heeded to US' request of delaying its Gaza invasion to make time to negotiate hostage releases and keep humanitarian aid flowing into Gaza. The upside, however, may remain limited due to cloudy earnings and signs that the U.S. Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer than hoped.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 63612.63, up by 464.48 points or 0.74% after trading in a range of 63393.37 and 63757.14. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.83%, while Small cap index was up by 1.62%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 1.96%, Power up by 1.55%, Utilities up by 1.51%, Industrials up by 1.43% and Energy up by 1.41%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 1.98%, Reliance Industries up by 1.87%, NTPC up by 1.58%, Infosys up by 1.45% and HCL Technologies up by 1.14%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.30%, ITC down by 0.26%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.24% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.22% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand has said private sector can play a critical role in precision farming In India. It can provide advisory services, agrochemicals, and suitable technology to support agricultural development. Chand has emphasised on the importance of partnership between the private and public sectors for long-term agricultural growth. 

Chand further stressed on the need for coming up with new ways to boost agricultural output and recognising the wide range of agricultural practices across the country. He highlighted the growth seen in India's agricultural industry, notably in livestock and fisheries, with an annual increase of roughly 2.75 per cent.

He stated ‘The real challenge lies in increasing productivity. To do so, we must address concerns of cost, technological progress, and resource efficiency.’ He added small-scale farmers' dominance in India's agricultural environment and scalability difficulties.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19005.70, up by 148.45 points or 0.79% after trading in a range of 18926.65 and 19029.95. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 2.52%, SBI up by 2.25%, Apollo Hospital up by 1.96%, Reliance Industries up by 1.92% and NTPC up by 1.83%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.68%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.33%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.30%, ITC down by 0.22% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.08% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 409.4 points or 1.34% to 31,011.18, Taiwan Weighted added 76.87 points or 0.48% to 16,150.61, Hang Seng advanced 168.78 points or 0.98% to 17,213.39, KOSPI increased 3.25 points or 0.14% to 2,302.33, Jakarta Composite gained 58.3 points or 0.86% to 6,772.82 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 10.49 points or 0.35% to 2,998.79.

On the flip side, Straits Times fell 7.32 points or 0.24% to 3,063.99.