Markets magnify gains in early noon session

Domestic equity markets magnified their gains in early noon session on account of hectic buying by funds and retail investors. There was broad based buying witnessed in the markets and apart from the blue chips, the broader markets too equally participated in the rally. Hectic buying in Ultratech Cement, Tata Motors, HDFC banks and Tata Steel helped the markets to magnifying their gains. Positive cues from the Global markets also supported domestic sentiments. Sentiments remained upbeat amid expectations of interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve in the first quarter of 2024. Besides, support also came in as the Reserve Bank of India said India's current account deficit narrowed in the July-September quarter largely due to a lower merchandise trade deficit while services exports also grew. The current account deficit stood at $8.3 billion, or 1% of GDP, in the second quarter of fiscal 2023-24 as compared to $9.2 billion or 1.1% of GDP in the preceding quarter.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading green following positive cues from the US markets overnight. Back home, all the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in green led by Metal, Basic Materials, Capital Goods, Auto and Realty. In the stock specific development, SJVN rose after the company secured 100 MW Solar Power Project through e-Reverse Auction conducted by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 71786.34, up by 449.54 points or 0.63% after trading in a range of 71473.65 and 71838.13. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.68%, while Small cap index up by 0.47%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.22%, Basic Materials up by 1.08%, Capital Goods up by 0.87%, Auto up by 0.82% and Realty up by 0.71%, while there were no losers. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 2.83%, Tata Motors up by 2.12%, Tata Steel up by 1.96%, JSW Steel up by 1.76% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.39%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 0.82%, Asian Paints down by 0.47%, Wipro down by 0.41%, TCS down by 0.33% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.19% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce and industry ministry has said that as many as 746 applications have been approved till November 2023 under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for 14 sectors such as pharma, white goods, and electronics. The schemes for 14 sectors were announced with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore to enhance India's manufacturing capabilities and exports.

It said that beneficiary companies have set up units in more than 150 districts (24 states) and over Rs 95,000 crore of investment has been reported till September, which has led to production/sales of Rs 7.80 lakh crore and employment generation of over 6.4 lakh.  Incentives worth around Rs 2,900 crore have been disbursed in 2022-23. There has been a value addition of 20 per cent in mobile manufacturing within a period of 3 years. It added that of the $101 billion worth of total electronics production in 2022-23, smartphones constituted $44 billion, including $11.1 billion as exports. Import substitution of 60 per cent has been achieved in the telecom sector and India has become almost self-reliant in Antennae, GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network) and CPE (Customer Premises Equipment). There has been a significant reduction in imports of raw materials in the pharma sector also.

About PLI in the white goods (AC and LED light components), it said that 64 companies have been selected under the scheme. Out of this, 34 would invest Rs 5,429 crore for air conditioner components and 30 would invest Rs 1,337 crore for LED component manufacturing. Further, it said investments of Rs 6,766 crore are envisaged creating additional direct employment of about 48,000 persons and added that 13 foreign companies are investing Rs 2,090 crore under the scheme.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21584.50, up by 143.15 points or 0.67% after trading in a range of 21495.80 and 21595.10. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 3.54%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.83%, Tata Motors up by 2.32%, Tata Steel up by 1.89% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.79%. On the flip side, Britannia down by 0.90%, NTPC down by 0.79%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.59%, Wipro down by 0.47% and Asian Paints down by 0.42% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; Hang Seng advanced 242.84 points or 1.49% to 16,583.25, Nikkei 225 surged 375.39 points or 1.11% to 33,681.24, Taiwan Weighted added 139.77 points or 0.78% to 17,891.50, Straits Times rose 26.11 points or 0.83% to 3,166.09, KOSPI increased 5.67 points or 0.22% to 2,608.26, Shanghai Composite strengthened 9.43 points or 0.33% to 2,908.31 and Jakarta Composite gained 37.32 points or 0.51% to 7,274.84.