Markets trade slightly higher in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices traded slightly higher in late morning deals amid mixed trends in global markets. Buying in Power Grid, NTPC, Titan and Bajaj Finance helped the markets to trade above neutral lines. However, gains remained capped as the data from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has showed that foreign direct investment (FDI) equity inflows in India declined 24 per cent to $20.48 billion in April-September 2023.  Depreciation in Indian rupee against dollar also weighed down sentiments. Rupee weakened by 5 paise to 83.33 against the dollar at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange market on account of increased demand for the American currency from importers and banks.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed following weak cues from US markets overnight. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in Healthcare, Consumer Durables, Power, Utilities and Oil & Gas, while selling was witnessed in Realty, Industrials, Telecom, Basic Materials, Bankex. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 65963.69, up by 32.92 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 65835.54 and 66057.32. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.06%, while Small cap index down by 0.38%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.67%, Consumer Durables up by 0.61%, Power up by 0.47%, Utilities up by 0.44% and Oil & Gas up by 0.41%, while Realty down by 1.38%, Industrials down by 0.36%, Telecom down by 0.35%, Basic Materials down by 0.27% and Bankex down by 0.27% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 1.32%, NTPC up by 0.98%, Titan up by 0.91%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.60% and Asian Paints up by 0.57%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 0.94%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.76%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.75%, ICICI Bank down by 0.60% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.40% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency ICRA in its latest report has projected India’s year-on-year (YoY) growth of the Gross domestic product (GDP) to moderate sequentially to 7% in Q2 FY24 from 7.8% in Q1 FY24. It said the Gross Value Added (GVA) growth is estimated to ease to 6.8% in Q2 FY24 from 7.8% in Q1 FY24, driven by the services sector (to +8.2% from +10.3%) and agriculture (to +1.0% from +3.5%), amidst an improvement in industry (to +6.6% from +5.5%).

According to the report, India’s investment activity was quite robust in Q2 FY24. The YoY growth performance of seven of the 11 investment-related indicators improved in Q2 FY24 relative to Q1 FY24. While the YoY growth in the remaining four indicators weakened in Q2 FY24 relative to Q1, all of them witnessed a double-digit expansion in the quarter, including the CV registrations (+13.5%), cement production (+10.2%), the states’ capital outlay and net lending (+33.5%), and the Government of India’s (GoI’s) capex (+26.4%).

It further said the aggregate capital outlay and net lending of 25 state governments, for which the CAG data is available, rose to Rs. 1.7 trillion in Q2 FY24 from Rs. 1.2 trillion in Q1 FY24; although the pace of YoY expansion halved to 33.5% from 75.0%, respectively, it remained robust, benefitting from an early transfer of funds under the interest-free capex loan scheme and front-loaded tax devolution. While the GoI’s gross capital expenditure rose by 26.4% YoY to Rs. 2.1 trillion in Q2 FY24, it trailed the Rs. 2.8 trillion seen in Q1 FY24 (YoY: +59.1%), amidst the monsoons.

ICRA estimates the industrial GVA growth to have risen to 6.6% in Q2 FY24 from 5.5% in Q1 FY24, boosted by manufacturing, electricity, and mining. ICRA projects manufacturing GVA growth to witness an uptick to 5.5% in Q2 FY24 (-3.8% in Q2 FY2023) from 4.7% in Q1 FY24 (+6.1% in Q1 FY23), benefitting from higher volumes and continuing albeit slower tailwinds from commodity prices. Moreover, electricity generation witnessed a doubledigit expansion of 11.1% on a YoY basis in Q2 FY24 (+1.3% in Q1 FY24), benefitting from the surge in electricity demand (to a five-quarter high +11.7% from +0.7%; as per POSOCO data) owing to a sub-par monsoon rainfall. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19793.60, up by 10.20 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 19767.15 and 19825.55. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 2.99%, Cipla up by 1.92%, Power Grid up by 1.36%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.35% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 1.28%, Adani Ports down by 0.95%, Indusind Bank down by 0.87%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.76% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.72% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted lost 130.8 points or 0.76% to 17,285.90, KOSPI dropped 0.40 points or 0.02% to 2,510.02, Shanghai Composite weakened 9.6 points or 0.31% to 3,058.33 and Jakarta Composite plunged 41.84 points or 0.6% to 6,919.95. However, Hang Seng advanced 6.67 points or 0.04% to 17,740.56, Nikkei 225 surged 65.47 points or 0.2% to 33,419.61, Straits Times rose 18.22 points or 0.58% to 3,114.56.