Benchmarks continue to trade higher in late morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade higher in late morning deals, buoyed by a positive global market trend and increased buying in Consumer Durables, Energy and Oil & Gas stocks. Sentiments remained up-beat with the World Bank in its latest report stating that India saw the highest amount of remittance inflows in the world in 2023 at $125 billion, driven by several factors, including the country’s agreement with the UAE, for promoting the use of dirhams and rupees for bilateral trade. Some support also came as Parliament has given its approval for a net additional spending of Rs 58,378.21 crore in the current fiscal ending March 2024 (FY24), with a large chunk allocated to MGNREGA and fertiliser subsidies. The gross additional spending would be more than Rs 1.29 lakh crore, out of which Rs 70,968 crore would be matched by savings and receipts. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green with traders shrugging off warnings from policymakers trying to rein in expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 71828.83, up by 391.64 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 71647.66 and 71913.07. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.76%, while Small cap index was up by 0.66%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.32%, Energy up by 1.30%, Oil & Gas up by 1.27%, IT up by 1.24% and TECK up by 1.14%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Wipro up by 1.85%, TCS up by 1.67%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.51%, Infosys up by 1.36% and Reliance Industries up by 1.12%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 0.44%, Sun Pharma Industries down by 0.29%, ICICI Bank down by 0.28% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.10% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its Article IV consultation report, which reviews a country's current and medium-term economic outlook, has said that the Indian economy is projected to grow at 6.3 per cent in the current financial year 2023-24 and the next. It said the country's growth is expected to remain strong, supported by macroeconomic and financial stability.

On inflation front, the IMF In its report projected 5.4 per cent for this fiscal year and 4.6 per cent for the next. It said Headline inflation is expected to gradually decline to the target although it remains volatile due to food price shocks. Domestically, weather shocks could reignite inflationary pressures and prompt further food export restrictions.

Further, it said India's current account deficit is expected to improve to 1.8 per cent of GDP in 2023-24 as a result of resilient services exports and, to a lesser extent, lower oil import costs. Current account deficit (CAD) is the difference in value of a country's imports and exports.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21578.80, up by 125.70 points or 0.59% after trading in a range of 21525.15 and 21593.00. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 3.39%, Tata Consumer Product up by 2.21%, Wipro up by 1.88%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.59% and TCS up by 1.58%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 0.57%, ICICI Bank down by 0.33%, Sun Pharma down by 0.24%, Grasim Industries down by 0.18% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.10% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 508.29 points or 1.53% to 33,727.68, Taiwan Weighted added 39.19 points or 0.22% to 17,615.74, Hang Seng advanced 167.7 points or 1.01% to 16,672.70, Straits Times rose 0.94 points or 0.03% to 3,117.56, KOSPI increased 41.14 points or 1.6% to 2,609.69 and Jakarta Composite gained 41.74 points or 0.58% to 7,229.59.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite weakened 11.76 points or 0.4% to 2,920.63.