Sensex, Nifty trade higher with marginal gains in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made cautious start on Monday amid mixed cues from Asian counterparts and investors avoided taking any long position ahead of major macro-economic data to be out later in the week for more cues. Soon, markets added some points and are trading higher with marginal gains in early deals. Sensex hit their historic 70,000 mark during the trade. Some respite came in as Union minister Piyush Goyal said India is aiming to achieve the $2 trillion export target by 2030 and in the process it is moving this industry out of the government support to make it self-sustaining and cost competitive. Also, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said India will become a $5 trillion economy by the end of 2025. Adding more optimism, a report noted that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) injected Rs 26,505 crore into the Indian equity markets in the first six trading sessions of this month on expectations of political stability after the BJP stormed to power in three major states and robust economic growth. Besides, India's foreign exchange reserves increased to $604 billion as on December 1, surpassing the $600 billion mark after a gap of about four months. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed amid concerns about interest rates after stronger than expected US jobs data in November. Markets in China and Hong Kong are falling on signs that China's deflation situation is deepening. China's consumer prices fell the fastest in three years in November and producer price inflation fell further into negative territory, underscoring the challenges facing the world's second-largest economy.

Back home, Governor Shaktikanta Das ruled out loosening interest rates, saying inflation remains top priority as a few months of good data should not lead to complacency, even as the Reserve Bank kept key policy rates unchanged for the fifth consecutive time. In stock specific development, Dr Reddy's dropped on receiving Form 483 with 3 observations from the US FDA for its R&D unit in Bachupally, Hyderabad.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 69939.83, up by 114.23 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 69797.15 and 70048.90. 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 0.55%, while Small cap index was up by 0.62%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 1.04%, Energy up by 0.73%, Oil & Gas up by 0.70%, Realty up by 0.66% and Industrials up by 0.60%, while Healthcare down by 0.52%, Power down by 0.20% and Utilities down by 0.14% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 1.44%, Indusind Bank up by 1.21%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.06%, Tata Motors up by 0.92% and HCL Technologies up by 0.80%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 0.75%, JSW Steel down by 0.52%, Axis Bank down by 0.48%, Wipro down by 0.45% and Sun Pharma down by 0.36% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over India’s economic situation, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran has said that the country’s economic growth can become faster if the much-awaited private capital formation kicks into higher gear. He said that post-COVID financial balance sheets of corporates have been positive. He added ‘For economic growth we need to have investment spending … India economic growth can become faster and accelerate if the much awaited private capital formation kicks into higher gear’.

The CEA pointed out that in terms of instilling confidence in the private corporate sector, the government in 2019 reduced the corporate tax rate. Underscoring the significance of robust private investment in driving economic growth amidst global uncertainty and geopolitical shifts, Nageswaran urged the private sector to embrace uncertainty and proactively invest, saying, ‘the more the private sector begins to put capital to work, the lesser will be the uncertainty.’ 

Reflecting on India’s economic journey, he spoke about the lessons learned from the financial upheavals of the past two decades. He stressed the importance of distinguishing between euphoria and what he termed ‘tough optimism’. He said ‘Optimism should not become the cause for premature triumphalism’. He said the country’s optimism should be grounded in the reality. He also said ‘We still are aspiring middle-income country and we have a long way to go before we get there’. While noting that there are structural challenges that are being addressed, he said India needs to ensure that the country gets access to critical technologies and raw materials and resources. He noted that India’s tax to GDP ratio is not low, but it can be better.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 20993.60, up by 24.20 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 20923.70 and 21019.80. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 1.65%, ONGC up by 1.63%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.31%, UPL up by 1.30% and Indusind Bank up by 1.24%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 5.45%, Asian Paints down by 0.71%, Cipla down by 0.57%, Wipro down by 0.57% and JSW Steel down by 0.55% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 333.53 points or 2.04% to 16,000.84, Jakarta Composite plunged 52.1 points or 0.73% to 7,107.50, Straits Times fell 23.59 points or 0.76% to 3,087.14 and Shanghai Composite was down by 16.71 points or 0.57% to 2,952.85. On the other hand, Nikkei 225 surged 497.62 points or 1.54% to 32,805.48, Taiwan Weighted added 33.41 points or 0.19% to 17,417.40 and KOSPI was up by 0.18 points or 0.01% to 2,518.03.