Domestic indices trade marginally higher in early deals on Tuesday

Indian equity markets have made a positive start and are trading marginally higher in early on Monday amid falling crude oil prices. Buying in Ultratech Cement, Wipro, Bajaj Finserv and Asian Paints supported the markets to trade above neutral lines. Traders were getting some support as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data showed that India's foreign exchange reserves increased by $5.077 billion to $595.397 billion for the weekending November 17. Traders took a note of report that S&P Global Ratings has raised India's growth forecast for the current financial year (FY24) to 6.4 per cent, from 6 per cent, saying that robust domestic momentum has offset headwinds from high food inflation and weak exports. However, it cut the growth estimates for the next fiscal (FY25) to 6.4 per cent, from 6.9 per cent, as it expects growth to slow on a higher base, subdued global growth and lagged impact of interest rate hike. There were some buzz in real estate industry related stocks as private report said buoyed by strong housing demand, the average residential property prices in key markets across the top seven Indian cities saw a significant surge in the last three years. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed following negative cues from the US markets overnight. Meanwhile, traders were also looking for additional clues about the outlook for interest rates. The U.S., European and Chinese PMIs, eurozone inflation data and U.S. personal consumption numbers will be released this week.  The US markets ended lower on Monday as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of some key economic data in the coming days. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in  Utilities, Power, Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Energy, while selling was witnessed in Telecom, FMCG and Bankex.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66000.37, up by 30.33 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 65959.20 and 66098.80. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.08%, while Small cap index up by 0.17%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.91%, Power up by 1.56%, Oil & Gas up by 1.25%, Basic Materials up by 0.76% and Energy up by 0.72%, while Telecom down by 0.44%, FMCG down by 0.09% and Bankex down by 0.05% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 1.27%, Wipro up by 0.52%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.40%, Asian Paints up by 0.40% and Tata Steel up by 0.40%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 0.53%, Reliance Industries down by 0.42%, Indusind Bank down by 0.38%, ITC down by 0.10% and HCL down by 0.10% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings in its latest report has raised India's growth forecast for the current financial year (FY24) to 6.4 per cent, from 6 per cent, saying that robust domestic momentum has offset headwinds from high food inflation and weak exports.

However, it cut the growth estimates for the next fiscal (FY25) to 6.4 per cent, from 6.9 per cent, as it expects growth to slow on a higher base, subdued global growth and lagged impact of interest rate hike.

It stated ‘We expect growth to slow in the second half of the fiscal year amid subdued global growth, a higher base, and the lagged impact of rate hikes. As a result, we have lowered our outlook for growth in fiscal 2025 to 6.4%, from 6.9%.’

The estimates of S&P is a shade higher than other international agencies. The IMF, World Bank, ADB, and Fitch expects India's GDP to expand 6.3 per cent in the current fiscal.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19825.40, up by 30.70 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 19806.30 and 19848.05. There were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 5.20%, Adani Ports up by 3.03%, BPCL up by 2.07%, Hindalco up by 1.33% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.03%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 0.55%, SBI Life down by 0.44%, Indusind Bank down by 0.42%, Reliance Industries down by 0.38% and Divi's Lab down by 0.24% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 108.08 points or 0.62% to 17,416.98, Nikkei 225 slipped 120.81 points or 0.36% to 33,326.86, Straits Times fell 11.89 points or 0.39% to 3,074.53. However, Taiwan Weighted added 186.73 points or 1.09% to 17,324.15, KOSPI increased 15.99 points or 0.64% to 2,511.65, Shanghai Composite strengthened 3.1 points or 0.1% to 3,034.80 and Jakarta Composite gained 35.78 points or 0.51% to 7,049.19.