Markets extend gains in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets added points in late afternoon session on account of buying in front line counters. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index traded with gains of over a percent. Traders preferred to buy stock at lowest levels. Investors overlooked report that the All-India Consumer Price Index Number for Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers (Base: 1986-87=100) for the month of November, 2023 increased by 12 points and 11 points respectively to stand at 1253 and 1262 points respectively. Sector wise, steel stocks remained in focused as credit rating agency Crisil in its latest report has said that India's finished steel import may touch 6 million tonne (MT) mark in the current fiscal (FY24) mainly on account of strong domestic demand, supported by government spending on infrastructure, building and construction segments. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed after an abrupt mid-afternoon nosedive ended Wall Street's impressive rally overnight. European markets were trading lower led by losses in real estate and automobiles and parts stocks following a sharp selloff at Wall Street in the previous session, while investors awaited more economic data from the U.S. for further clues on the global interest rate path. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 70795.18, up by 288.87 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 69920.39 and 70884.19. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.02%, while Small cap index was up by 1.17%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.60%, Metal up by 1.47%, Energy up by 1.47%, Utilities up by 1.46% and PSU was up by 1.42%, while Realty down by 0.19%, Auto down by 0.09% and Bankex was down by 0.01% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 2.40%, HDFC Bank up by 1.55%, Reliance Industries up by 1.47%, Titan Company up by 1.12% and Tata Steel up by 0.93%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 2.43%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.96%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.11%, HCL Tech down by 1.00% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.73% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency Crisil in its latest report has said that India's finished steel import may touch 6 million tonne (MT) mark in the current fiscal (FY24) mainly on account of strong domestic demand, supported by government spending on infrastructure, building and construction segments. In April- November 2023, India imported 4.26 MT of finished steel, up 13.4 per cent on-year even as its exports declined 6.2 per cent to 4.03 MT, making the country a net importer of finished steel.

According to the report, this fiscal, the steel sector in India is poised to clock its third consecutive year of double-digit growth at 11-13 per cent after growing 11.4 per cent and 13.4 per cent in fiscals 2022 and 2023, respectively. The report comes at a time when steel players are registering strong concerns of surging imports.

The report further said global steel demand, which has been subdued since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, is expected to grow 1.6 per cent in 2023, after a sharp fall of 3.3 per cent in 2022. The tepid rate of growth rides largely on a buoyant 13 per cent growth in demand in India, which has bucked the trend so far. Chinese mills have started pushing volumes into the global market at highly competitive prices. Between January-November this year, exports from China increased 35.6 per cent to 82.7 MT - the highest since 2016. Chinese exports to India have also surged.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21243.15, up by 93.00 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 20976.80 and 21269.50. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Britannia up by 2.46%, Power Grid up by 2.40%, Hindalco up by 2.02%, Eicher Motors up by 1.93% and BPCL up by 1.75%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 2.30%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.87%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.63%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.97% and HCL Tech down by 0.97% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 slipped 535.47 points or 1.62% to 33,140.47, Taiwan Weighted lost 91.46 points or 0.52% to 17,543.74, Jakarta Composite plunged 21.84 points or 0.3% to 7,197.83, KOSPI dropped 14.28 points or 0.55% to 2,600.02. On the flip side, Straits Times rose 5.84 points or 0.19% to 3,113.87, Hang Seng advanced 7.32 points or 0.04% to 16,621.13 and Shanghai Composite was up by 16.6 points or 0.57% to 2,918.71.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 11.73 points or 0.15% to 7,703.95, France’s CAC fell 14.33 points or 0.19% to 7,569.10 and Germany’s DAX was down by 48.64 points or 0.29% to 16,684.41.