Sensex, Nifty trade marginally higher

Indian equity benchmarks were trading marginally higher in late afternoon deals, supported by positive cues from European markets. Buying at Energy, Auto and Oil & Gas counters helped indices to trade in green. However, there was some anxiety among traders, as the central bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said that Indian financial institutions must guard against relying on algorithms and artificial intelligence to assess customers for loans. Das said Model based, algorithm lending can lead to a potential crisis. Meanwhile, hailing PM GatiShakti as India's revolutionary offering to the world, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal has projected PM GatiShakti as the future planning tool for infrastructure not just in India or Asia, but globally. 

On the global front, European markets were trading higher, after France's industrial production grew for the first time in four months in November. The data released by the statistical office INSEE showed that industrial output posted a monthly growth of 0.5 percent, in contrast to the 0.3 percent fall in October. This was the first expansion since July. Production was forecast to post nil growth in November.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 71733.24, up by 75.53 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 71543.19 and 71999.47. There were 13 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged 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 0.78%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.58%, Auto up by 1.28%, Oil & Gas up by 1.10%, Consumer Durables up by 1.00% and Consumer Discretionary up by 0.82%, while Capital Goods down by 1.05%, Industrials down by 0.45%, TECK down by 0.36%, IT down by 0.34% and FMCG down by 0.13% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 2.53%, Axis Bank up by 1.52%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.45%, Power Grid up by 1.03% and Tata Motors up by 0.95%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.40%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.24%, HCL Tech. down by 1.06%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.04% and JSW Steel down by 0.72% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that the awarding of smart meters by the state distribution utilities (discoms) is expected to more than double to 222 million in the near to medium term. It also said the smart metering installations are likely to surge over the next two years supported by the progress in tendering.

However, the report said the progress in installations remains low, with only 8 million smart meters installed as of December 2023. It said given the current pace of installations, the government's target to replace 250 million conventional meters with smart meters by 2025 is unlikely to be met. Nonetheless, it expects the pace of installations to witness a significant jump over the next two years.

The replacement of conventional meters with smart meters is a key initiative of the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) launched by the Centre in July 2021. It was launched with the objective of bringing down AT&C (aggregate technical & commercial) losses and reducing the gap between the cost of supply and tariff to zero for discoms.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21647.45, up by 28.75 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 21593.75 and 21726.50. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 4.83%, Bajaj Auto up by 3.48%, Reliance Industries up by 2.49%, BPCL up by 1.76% and Axis Bank up by 1.47%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 2.06%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.62%, Infosys down by 1.45%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.26% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.03% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 41.11 points or 0.54% to 7,692.87, France’s CAC rose 45.75 points or 0.62% to 7,471.83 and Germany’s DAX gained 134.56 points or 0.81% to 16,824.37.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 608.14 points or 1.74% to 35,049.86, Hang Seng advanced 204.76 points or 1.26% to 16,302.04, Taiwan Weighted added 79.69 points or 0.45% to 17,545.32, Straits Times rose 20.85 points or 0.66% to 3,200.81, Jakarta Composite gained 9.81 points or 0.14% to 7,237.11 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 8.95 points or 0.31% to 2,886.65, while KOSPI dropped 1.71 points or 0.07% to 2,540.27.