Sensex, Nifty remain higher in early noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained higher in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty holding notable gains, aided by positive cues from other Asian markets. Sentiments remained positive amid a private report stating that the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) strong showing in the state elections has bolstered hopes of political stability at the Centre, alleviating investor concerns regarding political uncertainty in the months leading to the general elections next year, although some of them remain cautious about the potential impact of budget provisions on investor sentiment. Meanwhile, Union Minister Jitendra Singh has said that the Government is working on new technologies such as Small Nuclear Reactors to make clean energy transition, adding that nuclear power is considered as one of the most promising clean energy options for power generation.  

On the sectoral front, auto stocks were in watch, as the dealers' body FADA said that automobile retail sales in India rose to a record high in November, aided by the best ever monthly performance across passenger vehicle and two-wheeler segments. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after the private sector in Hong Kong swung to expansion in November, with a PMI score of 50.1. That's up from 48.9 in October and it moves above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 69549.75, up by 253.61 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 69395.01 and 69673.83. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.04%, while Small cap index was up by 0.13%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 3.30%, Power up by 2.82%, Oil & Gas up by 1.37%, FMCG up by 1.14% and IT up by 0.96%, while Telecom down by 0.72%, Healthcare down by 0.60%, Realty down by 0.51%, Bankex down by 0.44% and Auto down by 0.30% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 2.29%, Wipro up by 2.20%, Nestle up by 1.64%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.39% and TCS up by 1.34%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.98%, NTPC down by 1.45%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.15%, ICICI Bank down by 0.86% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.61% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, fertiliser industry body Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) has pointed out that global prices of Diammonium phosphate (DAP) have risen in the last few months and said there will be a need to increase either the government subsidy or retail prices if the rates remain high in the international market. At present, fertiliser companies are selling the DAP at Rs 1,350 per bag of 50 kilograms. The association also demanded that urea, a key crop nutrient, should be brought under the Nutrientbased Subsidy (NBS) scheme on the lines of P&K fertilisers. This will help in correcting considerable disparities in MRPs (maximum retail prices) of urea and P&K fertilisers.

FAI Chairman N Suresh Krishnan has said that the global prices of DAP have risen to $595 per tonne from $440 per tonne in July this year. DAP was priced at $924 per tonne in April 2022. At this point in time with the current import price, viability will be a bit of a challenge in the case of DAP. He said ‘we may need either higher MRP or higher support from the government if the global prices maintain at the current level.’ 

He also expressed concern over a lower subsidy on the Muriate of Potash (MoP), which has resulted in this soil nutrient being costlier than DAP and thereby lesser consumption. Highlighting the progress in the Indian fertiliser sector, he said urea production is expected to rise to 30 million tonnes this fiscal from 28.5 million tonnes in the previous year. He expected the country to be selfsufficient in the next couple of years with a rise in domestic production.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 20896.25, up by 41.15 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 20887.55 and 20958.65. There were 24 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were LTIMindtree up by 2.80%, Wipro up by 2.18%, ITC up by 2.09%, Nestle up by 1.59% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.21%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 2.34%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.12%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.99%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.77% and Cipla down by 1.53% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 124.96 points or 0.76% to 16,452.82, Taiwan Weighted added 32.71 points or 0.19% to 17,360.72, Jakarta Composite gained 20.94 points or 0.29% to 7,121.80, KOSPI increased 1.10 points or 0.04% to 2,495.38 and Nikkei 225 surged 670.08 points or 2% to 33,445.90, while Straits Times fell 0.3 points or 0.01% to 3,076.86 and Shanghai Composite weakened 2.95 points or 0.1% to 2,969.35.