Benchmarks add some gains in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks added some gains in morning deals, led by gains in Oil & Gas, Utilities and IT stocks. Traders took support with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that India is expected to overtake Japan and Germany to emerge as the third largest economy in the world by 2027. She said India's economic growth is estimated to be just under 7 per cent during the year, the highest among major economies, despite global headwinds. She also said the Indian economy is therefore on the right track and is heading towards a bright future. Traders took a note of Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran’s statement that the increase of developing economies quota in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) can play a pivotal role in safeguarding global financial stability by enhancing the multilateral lending agency's permanent resources. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly lower as a crucial meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded, with both countries agreeing to work towards avoiding confrontation and instead focus on cooperation.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65818.28, up by 142.35 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 65507.02 and 65849.40. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.27%, while Small cap index was up by 0.44%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 0.93%, Utilities up by 0.82%, IT up by 0.67%, Energy up by 0.65% and Power up by 0.59%, while Metal down by 0.24%, Consumer Durables down by 0.18% and Basic Materials down by 0.14% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 2.20%, HCL Technologies up by 1.59%, Tata Motors up by 1.38%, TCS up by 1.36% and Sun Pharma up by 0.65%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.26%, JSW Steel down by 0.82%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.57%, Titan Company down by 0.46% and Tata Steel down by 0.40% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said India is expected to overtake Japan and Germany to emerge as the third largest economy in the world by 2027. Sitharaman said India's economic growth is estimated to be just under 7 per cent during the year, the highest among major economies, despite global headwinds. She also said the Indian economy is therefore on the right track and is heading towards a bright future. 

Further, she said  amidst supply-chain disruptions and economic turbulence due to contemporary conflicts that impact the Indo-Pacific, irrespective of whether they are occurring in relatively distant Ukraine or in relatively-proximate Israel or Yemen, and despite the palpable tensions prevalent in the South- and East China Sea, the Indian economy stands out as a bright spot.

He mentioned ‘Even according to the usually conservative estimates of the IMF, the Indian economy is set to emerge as the world's third largest economy by 2027, hopping over Japan and Germany, as its GDP crosses the $5 trillion level. By 2047, India aspires to be a developed economy.’ Besides, talking about India's 'Blue economy', she said, it accounts for roughly 4 per cent of the GDP and represents a sea of opportunities. He added India has 9 states and 4 Union Territories situated on the coast, 12 major and 200 non-major ports situated along its coastline, and a vast network of navigable waterways for international and domestic trade.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19710.10, up by 34.65 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 19627.00 and 19728.50. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 2.24%, Tata Motors up by 1.59%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.54%, HCL Technologies up by 1.30% and BPCL up by 1.24%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 1.35%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.31%, UPL down by 0.89%, Adani Enterprises down by 0.82% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.58% were the top losers. 

Asian markets are trading mostly lower; Hang Seng declined 297.64 points or 1.67% to 17,781.36, Straits Times fell 4.72 points or 0.15% to 3,127.40, KOSPI dropped 1.17 points or 0.05% to 2,485.50, Jakarta Composite plunged 19.68 points or 0.28% to 6,938.53, Shanghai Composite weakened 19.7 points or 0.65% to 3,053.13 and Nikkei 225 slipped 100.56 points or 0.3% to 33,419.14.

On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted added 3.86 points or 0.02% to 17,132.64.