Markets trade flat with positive bias in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks started the session in green on Friday but, soon turned volatile in the absence of overnight cues from Wall Street and amid mixed Asian cues. Now, markets are trading flat with positive bias as traders reluctant to make significant moves ahead of long weekend holiday. Foreign fund inflows aided sentiments. According to the provisional data available on the NSE, foreign institutional investors (FII) purchased shares worth net Rs 255.52 crore on November 23, 2023. Sentiments got support as PHDCCI's report stated that measures like comprehensive trade pacts, reduction in cost of capital, power, and land reforms will help boost India's exports of goods and services to $2 trillion by 2030. Some support also came in with report that Rohit Kumar Singh, secretary, department of consumer affairs said the government is set to take a slew of measures to contain the stubborn retail food inflation, including through intervention in pulses markets. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly lower following weak economic signals from Japan and the euro zone, while steep losses in index heavyweight Chow Tai Fook Jewellery dragged Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lower. Back home, edible oil industry stocks are in focus with a private report that Indian buyers curtailed purchases of palm oil for December and January shipments due to rising prices and as refiners face negative margins after making heavy imports in the past few months. In stock specific development, Lupin traded higher on receiving the U.S. FDA approval to market Canagliflozin tablets and Bromfenac Ophthalmic Solution in the American market.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66032.65, up by 14.84 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 65983.79 and 66101.64. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.34%, while Small cap index was up by 0.51%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.93%, Utilities up by 0.45%, Power up by 0.41%, Metal up by 0.41% and Realty up by 0.39%, while TECK down by 0.28%, IT down by 0.26%, Consumer Durables down by 0.15% and Auto down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 1.25%, Sun Pharma up by 0.38%, Axis Bank up by 0.35%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.33% and ITC up by 0.32%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 0.61%, HCL Technologies down by 0.51%, TCS down by 0.45%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.43% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.31% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over India’s exports growth, the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) in its latest report has said that measures like comprehensive trade pacts, reduction in cost of capital, power, and land reforms will help boost the country’s exports of goods and services to $2 trillion by 2030. The report also recommended schemes for 75 potential export products including marine items, iron ore, some chemicals, pharma, cotton, aluminium, and tankers to promote shipments. It said ‘the 75 products have been identified from nine most promising sectors. These products contribute around $222 billion, which is around 50 per cent of India's total exports. At the global level, these 75 products have significant presence in world exports, whereas India's share of these products is only 6 per cent of the total world exports’.

The report - ‘India's Emerging Export Dynamics: Vision USD 2 Trillion Exports by 2030’ added that India's service exports have traditionally been concentrated in North America and Europe, but growing continents like Asia, Africa, and Latin America also offer plenty of scope for growth. It said ‘New free trade agreement should be comprehensive as it will expand and offer diversification as India has a comparative advantage in the service sector’, and added such pacts will offer a more balanced opportunity for the country's competitive services sector. It said that a cut in repo rate will lower the lending rates which will reduce the cost of capital for the businesses leading to an increase in domestic demand and enhancing the competitiveness of producers in the domestic market and exporters in the international market.

The report also said that due to steps taken by the government, costs associated with getting electricity have reduced significantly over the years. However, the per unit charges of power are still significantly high. It suggested that the government should focus on skill development of human resources which will increase the efficiency and productivity, increasing the competitiveness of firms in the international and domestic market. On export infrastructure, it suggested that the infrastructure is not that much adequate given the rise in the export in the recent years and rail and ports are needed to be upgraded and scaled up to reduce the logistic cost in the country. Further, it said the emerging high growth destinations such as Togo, the Netherlands, Brazil, Israel, Indonesia, Turkey, Australia, and South Africa would enhance India's export growth.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19813.70, up by 11.70 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 19809.10 and 19832.85. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Divi's Lab up by 1.67%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.51%, NTPC up by 0.97%, Cipla up by 0.93% and Hindalco up by 0.66%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.16%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.57%, HCL Technologies down by 0.53%, Apollo Hospital down by 0.50% and Britannia Industries down by 0.44% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 247.76 points or 1.38% to 17,663.08, Straits Times fell 18.08 points or 0.58% to 3,096.84, Shanghai Composite weakened 14.64 points or 0.48% to 3,047.22, KOSPI dropped 13.59 points or 0.54% to 2,501.37 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 2.46 points or 0.01% to 17,292.09. On the other hand, Nikkei 225 surged 249.42 points or 0.75% to 33,701.25 and Jakarta Composite was up by 13.3 points or 0.19% to 7,017.64.