Benchmarks continue to trade in green in late morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some gains but continued to trade in green in late morning deals, amid a rally in global markets. Traders took some support as State Bank of India chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara termed the 7.3 per cent growth estimate for the country for FY24 as a very positive development. Traders took note of Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra’s statement that India and the United Arab Emirates have signed a deal to explore the establishment of grid connectivity between the two countries. He said one of the pacts is on renewable energy, which also includes green hydrogen and solar. However, gains remained capped as investors awaited earnings from IT majors as well as the latest readings on industrial output and retail inflation for directional cues. On the global front, Asian markets are trading higher tracking gains in the US stocks overnight. Traders keenly awaiting U.S. inflation readings and earnings from large U.S. banks. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 71759.20, up by 101.49 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 71731.58 and 71999.47. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.69%, while Small cap index was up by 0.67%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.04%, Consumer Durables up by 0.89%, Energy up by 0.82%, Utilities up by 0.78% and PSU up by 0.78%, while Capital Goods down by 0.61%, Industrials down by 0.23% and Realty down by 0.05% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 1.36%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.24%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.19%, TCS up by 1.10% and Axis Bank up by 1.07%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.02%, Nestle down by 0.57%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.52%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.42% and Sun Pharma down by 0.42% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) in its latest report has said India's economy is likely to surpass $4 trillion in 2024-25 and further escalate to $5 trillion by 2026-27. It also expects the RBI to cut the repo rate by 100 basis points in a calibrated manner by the end of 2024.

It stated ‘The Indian economy is showing evidence of strong growth...It is imperative that there is a need to remain watchful and adaptable in the coming days to mitigate the dangers presented by the global economy through carefully calibrated policy actions.’ Observing that despite global challenges, India's economy remains resilient, it said the country is poised to attain the status of a developed economy by 2047 under the initiative of 'Viksit Bharat'.

Elaborating upon the various steps to accelerate economic growth further, Deputy Secretary General at PHDCCI SP Sharma said the government should focus more on the informal sector because sometimes the reforms are not percolated at the ground level. He further said the banking system needs to become more robust to help small businesses so that they are able to expand their capacities according to the demand trajectory.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21656.40, up by 37.70 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 21641.20 and 21726.50. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 3.38%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.83%, Indusind Bank up by 1.44%, Coal India up by 1.31% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.28%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.86%, Infosys down by 1.03%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 0.70%, Grasim Industries down by 0.63% and Nestle down by 0.56% were the top losers. 

All Asian markets are trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 679.91 points or 1.94% to 35,121.63, Taiwan Weighted added 54.59 points or 0.31% to 17,520.22. Hang Seng advanced 218.67 points or 1.34% to 16,315.95, Straits Times rose 18.82 points or 0.59% to 3,198.78, KOSPI increased 3.96 points or 0.16% to 2,545.94, Jakarta Composite gained 31.69 points or 0.44% to 7,258.99 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 2.57 points or 0.09% to 2,880.27.