Markets trade with gains of over half percent in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices maintained their gains and were trading higher by over half a percent in late morning deals as investors got comfort from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to leave its benchmark interest rates unchanged. Meanwhile, broader indices outperformed their large peers with BSE Small cap index and BSE Mid cap index gaining in the range of 0.85-1.05%. Sentiments got boost as the finance ministry has said that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections increased 13 per cent to Rs 1.72 lakh crore in October 2023 (Year-over-year), the second highest-ever, helped by momentum in the economy, efforts of taxmen in checking evasion and festive demand. All the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading higher led by PSU, Telecom, Realty, Utilities and Oil & Gas. 

On the global front, Asian market were trading mostly in green following positive cues from US markets overnight, as a hawkish interest-rate hold by the Federal Reserve fueled hopes that the U.S. central bank is done with rate hikes. Back home, in the stock specific development, JK Tyre & Industries surged after the company posted strong set of numbers in the second-quarter (Q2 FY24). 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 63987.92, up by 396.59 points or 0.62% after trading in a range of 63984.09 and 64202.64. 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 1.04%, while Small cap index up by 0.86%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 1.45%, Telecom up by 1.38%, Realty up by 1.18%, Utilities up by 1.14% and Oil & Gas up by 1.11%, while there were no losers. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 1.97%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.24%, Sun Pharma up by 1.21%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.17% and NTPC up by 1.07%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 0.17%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.15%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.11% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.03% were the few losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that its sample companies of Indian home textile industry are expected to report around 7-8% YoY increase in revenues to Rs 215 billion for FY24, supported by a rebound in demand conditions and restocking by big retailers from the US market to realign their inventory levels.

According to the report, India’s home textile exports reported a double-digit decline of 18% and 12% in FY2023 and 4M FY2024, respectively, amid high raw material expenses and energy inflation, coupled with a muted demand scenario in the US and the EU markets. The US remains the largest market for Indian home textile exports, with a 56% share in FY2023 and 58% share in 4M FY2024. Given the high dependence on the US market, the strength in retail sales there remains a key demand driver for Indian exporters. The US retail inventory levels for furniture, home furnishing, electronics, and appliance stores have come down from CY2022 levels, with destocking being almost over for the big retailers. As a result, ICRA expects retailers to start buying in the subsequent months to restock their inventory, thereby improving the overall order book position and revenues for FY2024 of the home textile players.

The report further said the product wise breakup of the home textiles exports indicates that value-wise, bed/table/toilet/kitchen linen remains the largest product category in exports with around 32-33% share in FY2023 and 4M FY2024, followed by carpets & floor coverings with around 31% share in FY2023 and 4M FY2024. ICRA expects the share of products to remain similar in the medium term. As raw material costs account for 55-60% of the total operating cost for home textile exporters, the increase in yarn prices has exerted some pressure on their profitability in FY2023. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19115.05, up by 125.90 points or 0.66% after trading in a range of 19105.95 and 19175.25. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Britannia up by 2.61%, Adani Enterprises up by 2.37%, Indusind Bank up by 1.91%, UPL up by 1.40% and Apollo Hospital Ent. up by 1.38%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.66%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.60%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.34%, Tata Steel down by 0.13% and ONGC down by 0.11% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 160.38 points or 0.94% to 17,262.16, Nikkei 225 surged 374.37 points or 1.18% to 31,976.02, Taiwan Weighted added 358.39 points or 2.23% to 16,396.95, Straits Times rose 4.74 points or 0.15% to 3,081.51, KOSPI increased 39.74 points or 1.73% to 2,341.30 and Jakarta Composite gained 127.98 points or 1.89% to 6,770.40. However, Shanghai Composite weakened 3.91 points or 0.13% to 3,019.17.