Domestic indices maintain gains in late morning deals

Domestic equity markets maintained their gains in late morning deals as market participants indulged in enlarging their positions. Hectic buying in ITC, Wipro, Asian Paints and Larsen & Toubro companies’ stocks helped markets to maintain their gains. Meanwhile, broader indices were also trading in green. Positive cues from other Asian markets also supported domestic sentiments. Sentiments remained upbeat on easing crude oil prices and sustained buying from foreign institutional investors. Foreign institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 5,223.51 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. On the sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in Utilities, Power, FMCG, Oil & Gas and Capital Goods, while selling was witnessed in Telecom, Realty, Bankex , Healthcare  and Metal. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green despite mostly negative cues from US markets overnight.  Japanese markets traded higher led by index heavyweights, exporters and technology stocks. Back home, in the stock specific development, Himadri Speciality Chemical surged as the company has received approval for setting up of the manufacturing facility for the production of Lithium-ion Battery (LiB) components with total annual production capacity of 200,000 MT either directly and/or through its subsidiaries with an estimated project cost of Rs 4,800 crore in phases over a period of 5 to 6 years.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 69597.56, up by 301.42 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 69395.01 and 69673.83. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 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 0.25%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 3.07%, Power up by 2.72%, FMCG up by 1.44%, Oil & Gas up by 1.24% and Capital Goods up by 0.92%, while Telecom down by 0.70%, Realty down by 0.32%, Bankex down by 0.32%, Healthcare down by 0.25% and Metal down by 0.07% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 2.61%, Wipro up by 2.08%, Asian Paints up by 1.64%, Nestle up by 1.60% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.31%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.34%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.28%, NTPC down by 1.00%, ICICI Bank down by 0.71% and Axis Bank down by 0.52% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), a self-regulatory body of the Non-Banking Financial Companies - Micro Finance Institutions (NBFC-MFIs), in its latest report has said that microfinance loan portfolio stood at Rs 3.76 lakh crore, serving 7.1 crore borrowers during the July-September quarter of 2023-24 (Q2FY24). Microloan disbursals touched Rs 76,054 crore in Q2FY24, as compared to Rs 71,916 crore in the same period of the previous financial year.

According to the report, Gross loan portfolio (GLP) of the microfinance industry stood at Rs 3.76 lakh crore, reflecting a rise of 25 per cent over the year-ago period. NBFC-MFIs totalling 91 are the largest provider of microfinance, followed by banks, small finance banks and non-banking financial institutions. In terms of regional distribution of GLP, the east, the northeast and the south account for 63 per cent of the total portfolio.

It further said among the NBFC-MFI members of MFIN, assets under management (AUM) stood at Rs 1,33,963 crore at the end of the second quarter, registering a year-on-year growth of 39.2 per cent. The average loan amount disbursed during the second quarter of the current fiscal was Rs 41,373, which is 0.4 per cent lower than the similar previous period. During the second quarter of 2023-24, NBFC-MFIs received Rs 26,503 crore of debt funding, and Rs 28,138 crore of equity funding.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 20927.10, up by 72.00 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 20887.55 and 20958.65. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 2.71%, Adani Ports up by 2.13%, Wipro up by 1.99%, LTIMindtree up by 1.96% and Nestle up by 1.72%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 1.95%, Eicher Motors down by 1.71%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.39%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.23% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.23% were the top losers. 

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 236.75 points or 1.43% to 16,564.6, Nikkei 225 surged 629.12 points or 1.88% to 33,404.94, Taiwan Weighted added 63.31 points or 0.36% to 17,391.32, KOSPI increased 8.46 points or 0.34% to 2,502.74, Shanghai Composite strengthened 9.9 points or 0.33% to 2,982.20 and Jakarta Composite gained 26.59 points or 0.37% to 7,127.45. However, Straits Times fell 0.07 points or 0% to 3,077.09.