Benchmarks trade marginally in red in late morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks erased initial gains and were trading marginally in red in late morning deals, signaling a potentially volatile session amidst F&O contract settlements and evening exit polls for five State assemblies. Traders also remained on sidelines ahead of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for Q2 to be out later in the day for more cues. However, losses remained capped as some support came with the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) stating that the unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above in urban areas declined to 6.6 per cent in the September quarter (Q2FY24) from 7.2 per cent a year ago. The unemployment rate in the March quarter of the previous fiscal was 6.8 per cent, while it was 6.6 per cent in April-June. The rate was 7.2 per cent in the third quarter of the previous fiscal. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green even as an official factory survey showed China's manufacturing activity contracted for a second straight month in November and at a quicker pace, suggesting more government policy support measures are needed to help shore up economic growth. Traders also await key U.S. inflation data later in the day for further cues on the outlook for interest rates. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66830.70, down by 71.21 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 66610.35 and 67020.11. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.31%, while Small cap index was up by 0.12%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.84%, Consumer Durables up by 0.63%, Capital Goods up by 0.59%, Industrials up by 0.42% and PSU up by 0.31%, while Utilities down by 1.12%, Power down by 0.66%, Realty down by 0.53% and Bankex down by 0.23% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 1.37%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.96%, Sun Pharma up by 0.93%, Axis Bank up by 0.91% and Titan Company up by 0.84%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.46%, ICICI Bank down by 0.86%, Indusind Bank down by 0.84%, HDFC Bank down by 0.66% and Asian Paints down by 0.44% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam has said a vision document is being prepared for India to become a developed economy of about $30 trillion by 2047, and it will be released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January next year. The draft ‘Vision India @2047’ document will outline the institutional and structural changes/ reforms that will be needed for the country to become a developed nation by 2047.

In 2023, NITI Aayog was entrusted with the task of consolidating the 10 sectoral thematic visions into a combined vision for Viksit Bharat @2047. Subrahmanyam said the government wants the college enrolment rate in India to increase from 27 per cent to 50-60 per cent. He said the government is spending huge money on higher education and now there is also a need to revamp India’s education sector.

He said ‘So, the college going population would go up from 4 crore to 8-9 crore. So we need a thousand more universities, in addition to the thousand universities we have today.’ Besides, he highlighted that since states are fiscally stressed, funds for opening new universities will have to come from the private sector. He noted that there is a need to create education cities like Boston and San Francisco where R&D and innovation can happen.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 20091.60, down by 5.00 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 20015.85 and 20136.15. There were 30 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 2.49%, SBI Life Insurance up by 1.99%, Eicher Motors up by 1.86%, Apollo Hospital up by 1.61% and Tata Consumer Product up by 1.44%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.46%, Adani Enterprises down by 1.34%, ICICI Bank down by 1.02%, HDFC Bank down by 0.70% and Indusind Bank down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 126.51 points or 0.38% to 33,447.73, Taiwan Weighted added 25.44 points or 0.15% to 17,396.00, Hang Seng advanced 11.42 points or 0.07% to 17,004.86, KOSPI increased 2.34 points or 0.09% to 2,522.15, Jakarta Composite gained 46.06 points or 0.65% to 7,082.15 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 4.91 points or 0.16% to 3,026.60.

On the flip side, Straits Times fell 12.51 points or 0.41% to 3,072.19.