Benchmarks extend gains in late morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks extended gains in late morning deals, supported by strong gains in Realty, Utilities and Power stocks. Sentiments remained up-beat with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal exuding confidence that during this fiscal (FY24), the country will maintain the last year's export figures despite slowdown in global trade. He said that India's exports of goods and services rose to $776 billion in 2022-23 from $500 billion two years ago. Some support also came with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s statement that the year 2024 will continue to be turbulent for the world but India is well-positioned politically and economically to navigate the challenges, maintain its rising global role and its path of development. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red after the Fed signalled prolonger higher interest rates. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 71796.99, up by 440.39 points or 0.62% after trading in a range of 71546.60 and 71823.75. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.13%, while Small cap index up by 0.97%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 5.46%, Utilities up by 1.73%, Power up by 1.27%, PSU up by 1.22% and Telecom up by 1.11%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 3.41%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.23%, Indusind Bank up by 2.21%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.96% and Tata Motors up by 1.71%. On the flip side, TCS down by 0.76%, HCL Technologies down by 0.64%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.64%, SBI down by 0.35% and Tata Steel down by 0.33% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has exuded confidence that during this fiscal (FY24), the country will maintain the last year's export figures despite slowdown in global trade. He said that India's exports of goods and services rose to $776 billion in 2022-23 from $500 billion two years ago.

He stated ‘Globally growth has been negative, international trade is in the negative territory, estimates are that this year international trade may fall, and in that perspective after having grown so rapidly we are looking at a phase of consolidation and I expect that the current year, we will maintain our figures of last year and strengthen our processes and our domestic capacities, capabilities to be able to grow at much faster rates in the years to come.’

Cumulatively, the country's merchandise exports in April-November 2023-24 contracted by 6.51 per cent to $278.8 billion. The estimated value of services export during the eight-month period stood at $220.66 billion. Further, he added that both the foreign affairs and commerce ministries are working together to boost exports.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21640.05, up by 122.70 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 21564.55 and 21649.05. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 3.48%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.29%, Tata Consumer Product up by 2.54%, ONGC up by 2.50% and Indusind Bank up by 2.23%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 1.44%, LTIMindtree down by 1.24%, TCS down by 0.75%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.69% and Eicher Motors down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 196.1 points or 0.59% to 33,268.07, Taiwan Weighted lost 27 points or 0.15% to 17,532.31, Hang Seng declined 81.62 points or 0.49% to 16,564.79, Straits Times fell 21.71 points or 0.68% to 3,177.73, KOSPI dropped 24.65 points or 0.95% to 2,582.66 and Shanghai Composite weakened 25.85 points or 0.88% to 2,941.40.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite gained 50.8 points or 0.7% to 7,329.89.