Domestic markets maintain gains as RBI ups FY24 GDP forecast

Domestic equity indices maintained their gains in late morning deals on account of buying by funds and retail investors. Hectic buying in JSW Steel, HCL and HDFC Bank helped the markets to maintain their gains. Sentiments got boost as the RBI upped its forecast for India's GDP growth to 7 per cent for FY24 from 6.5 per cent earlier. Support also came in as Niti Aayog vice chairman Suman Bery said India has the potential to grow at 8 per cent as the country is labour-rich with enough institutional maturity of a functioning democracy. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in Metal, Realty, IT, TECK and Capital Goods, while selling was witnessed in Utilities, Power, Telecom, Auto and Oil & Gas. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green following positive cues from US markets overnight. However, Japanese market was trading lower as Japan’s third-quarter GDP was revised downward in a surprise move. Japan’s third-quarter GDP was revised downward to a 0.7% fall quarter-on-quarter, a sharper slide compared with the 0.5% decline estimated earlier. Street had forecast that the revised figure would be unchanged at 0.5%. Back home, in the stock specific development, Olectra Greentech traded higher after the company secured an order worth 628 million rupees for the supply of 40 electric buses.  

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 69778.61, up by 256.92 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 69606.69 and 69888.33. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.13%, while Small cap index up by 0.06%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.04%, Realty up by 0.78%, IT up by 0.64%, TECK up by 0.49% and Capital Goods up by 0.45%, while Utilities down by 0.81%, Power down by 0.78%, Telecom down by 0.63%, Auto down by 0.57% and Oil & Gas down by 0.56% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were JSW Steel up by 3.72%, HCL up by 1.94%, HDFC Bank up by 1.43%, NTPC up by 1.21% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.90%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.09%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.03%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.84%, ITC down by 0.55% and Tata Motors down by 0.49% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) has said that electric vehicle (EV) total retail sales, including passenger and commercial vehicles, grew 25.5 per cent to 1,52,606 units in November 2023. The total EV retail sales in November 2022 were recorded at 1,21,596 units.

It said the e-two-wheeler sales were 18.82 per cent higher at 91,243 units during November 2023 from 76,791 units in November 2022. The e-three-wheeler volume rose 32.37 per cent to 53,766 vehicles in the reporting month as compared to 40,619 units retailed in the year-ago period.

It further stated that electric passenger vehicles retail sales in November this year stood at 7,064 units, a growth of 77.35 per cent over 3,983 units in the same month of last year. The electric commercial vehicle (e-buses) retail sales were reported at 533 units in November 2023 as against 203 units retailed in November 2022, registering a year-on-year growth of 162 per cent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 20963.10, up by 61.95 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 20929.60 and 21006.10. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 3.72%, LTIMindtree up by 1.99%, HCL up by 1.87%, HDFC Bank up by 1.42% and NTPC up by 1.23%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 1.56%, Adani Ports down by 1.31%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.10%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.07% and Divi's Lab down by 1.05% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 28.43 points or 0.17% to 16,374.32, Taiwan Weighted added 120.43 points or 0.69% to 17,399.17, Straits Times rose 32.68 points or 1.05% to 3,106.94, KOSPI increased 26.34 points or 1.05% to 2,518.41, Shanghai Composite strengthened 7.8 points or 0.26% to 2,974.01 and Jakarta Composite gained 30.92 points or 0.43% to 7,165.54. However, Nikkei 225 slipped 589.05 points or 1.83% to 32,269.26.