Markets trade slightly higher ahead of exit polls for five State elections

Indian equity markets have made a positive start and are trading slightly higher in early deals on Thursday amid mixed cues from the global markets. Traders got some support as Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said Indian economy is showing momentum and the growth rate in the second quarter (July-September) is likely to be good. The economy grew at 7.8 per cent in the first quarter (April-June) of the current financial year. Further, foreign fund inflows also supported sentiments. Provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed that foreign institutional investors net bought shares worth Rs 71.91 crore on November 29. However, there was some cautiousness in the markets as traders were eyeing on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for Q2 and exit polls of five state elections to be out later in the day. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green despite manufacturing activity in China contracted further. US markets ended mostly in red on Wednesday as traders looked ahead to the release of key inflation readings on Thursday. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in Healthcare, Consumer Durables, FMCG, Industrials and Bankex, while selling was witnessed in Utilities, Power, Realty, IT and Oil & Gas.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66936.62, up by 34.71 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 66911.06 and 67020.11. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.21%, while Small cap index up by 0.29%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.51%, Consumer Durables up by 0.33%, FMCG up by 0.29%, Industrials up by 0.27% and Bankex up by 0.27%, while Utilities down by 0.85%, Power down by 0.63%, Realty down by 0.32%, IT down by 0.14% and Oil & Gas down by 0.10% were the top losing indices on BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 2.02%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.77%, Axis Bank up by 0.64%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.54% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.54%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 0.70%, NTPC down by 0.50%, Reliance Industries down by 0.48%, Tata Steel down by 0.43% and Tata Motors down by 0.42% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth has said Indian economy is showing momentum and the growth rate in the second quarter (July-September) is likely to be good. The GDP numbers for the second quarter are scheduled to be released later in the day. The economy grew at 7.8 per cent in the first quarter (April-June) of the current financial year.

He stated ‘India economy showed good momentum in the second quarter. The second quarter numbers should be good.’ Further, he said that the fiscal deficit target of 5.9 per cent for the current financial year is feasible despite additional outgo towards food subsidy.

He said ‘We are confident of meeting fiscal deficit target this year despite the government raising food subsidy for the next five years.’ The Budget 2023-24 proposes to bring down the fiscal deficit to 5.9 per cent of the GDP from 6.4 per cent in the previous financial year. The government proposes to further bring down the fiscal deficit to less than 4.5 per cent of the GDP by 2025-26.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 20111.85, up by 15.25 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 20101.40 and 20136.15. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 2.92%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.92%, SBI Life Insuran up by 1.67%, BPCL up by 1.47% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.09%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 1.57%, Hindalco down by 0.94%, Adani Ports down by 0.74%, Asian Paints down by 0.68% and NTPC down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 5.29 points or 0.02% to 33,326.51, Taiwan Weighted added 9.52 points or 0.05% to 17,380.08, KOSPI increased 0.64 points or 0.03% to 2,520.45, Shanghai Composite strengthened 4.74 points or 0.16% to 3,026.43, and Jakarta Composite gained 31.88 points or 0.45% to 7,067.97. However, Hang Seng declined 7.48 points or 0.04% to 16,985.96, Straits Times fell 10.89 points or 0.35% to 3,073.81.