Volatility continues over Dalal Street

Indian equity benchmarks remained volatile during early afternoon deals, as traders were cautious amid uncertainty about the trajectory of the U.S. economy. Selling at FMCG and Oil & Gas counters also impacted markets. Sentiments got hit, amid a private report stating that India's industrial growth likely cooled to 7.5 percent in September on account of some weakening of momentum in activity. According to a report, industrial growth - as per the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) - likely fell in September for the first time in three months, with high-frequency data indicative of a slowdown.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after China slipped into a deflation again in October on falling food prices and producer prices continued to decline amid renewed economic weakness. The figures from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that consumer prices dropped 0.2 percent in October from a year ago after staying flat in September. The rate matched expectations.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 64983.11, up by 7.50 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 64872.40 and 65046.56. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.30%, while Small cap index was up by 0.15%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.97%, Auto up by 1.12%, Utilities up by 0.80%, Consumer discretionary up by 0.56% and Healthcare up by 0.42%, while FMCG down by 0.50%, Oil & Gas down by 0.49%, Consumer Durables down by 0.39%, IT down by 0.35% and Basic Materials down by 0.31% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.29%, Tata Motors up by 1.53%, Indusind Bank up by 1.45%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.14% and NTPC up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.70%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.08%, Reliance Industries down by 0.91%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.76% and Infosys down by 0.65% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that the new business premium (NBP) of domestic life insurance companies is likely to grow to Rs 4.064.14 trillion in FY2024 and Rs 4.494.66 trillion in FY2025, up from Rs. 3.71 trillion in FY2023, translating into an industrywide NBP growth of 912% for FY2024 and 1113% for FY2025 respectively. It noted that with steady growth in renewal premium income, the gross premium written (GPW) is expected to increase to Rs. 8.568.64 trillion in FY2024 and Rs. 9.379.55 trillion in FY2025, from Rs. 7.86 trillion in FY2023E.

According to the report, the individual NBP for the industry expanded at a sharp 15.4% yearonyear (YoY) in FY2023 (4year CAGR of 10.3%) to Rs. 1.45 trillion, partly attributed to the significant growth in the guaranteed nonpar individual segment. The expansion was also driven by the levy of taxes on the returns from these policies if the annual premium paid exceeded Rs. 5 lakh per annum. This change was applicable from April 2023 onwards leading to sharp increase in premium in FY2023 resulting in a moderation in the industry’s individual NBP growth to 7.7% on YoY basis during H1 FY2024. ICRA expects the individual NBP to rise by 810% in FY2024 and 1012% in FY2025.

It further said contrary to the individual segment, the group NBP for the industry witnessed a contraction by 22.6% in H1 FY2024, because of shrinkage in LIC’s group business. Given that the latter accounted for 75% of LIC’s NBP in FY2023 and LIC accounted for 63% of industry NBP, the revival in its group business will be critical for the overall NBP growth of the industry. In the absence of this, the NBP for the industry is likely to contract.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19438.35, down by 5.15 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 19402.70 and 19463.90. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.60%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.94%, Apollo Hospital up by 1.68%, Tata Motors up by 1.46% and Indusind Bank up by 1.45%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.69%, Tata Consumer Products down by 1.40%, Adani Enterprises down by 1.25%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.20% and UPL down by 0.98% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 4.82 points or 0.03% to 16,745.65, Jakarta Composite gained 17.1 points or 0.25% to 6,821.21, Straits Times rose 7.4 points or 0.24% to 3,137.12, Shanghai Composite strengthened 0.91 points or 0.03% to 3,053.28, KOSPI increased 5.46 points or 0.22% to 2,427.08 and Nikkei 225 surged 479.98 points or 1.47% to 32,646.46, while Hang Seng declined 30.16 points or 0.17% to 17,538.30.