Markets wipe out opening losses to trade higher on account of value buying

Indian equity benchmarks made negative start on Wednesday amid mixed global cues. Persistent foreign fund outflows also dent sentiments. Provisional data from the NSE showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to be net sellers for five days in a row, selling shares worth Rs 3,115.39 crore on January 23. However, soon markets wiped out all losses and gained traction to trade above neutral lines in early deals on account of value buying after previous session’s sharp fall. Sensex and Nifty are trading higher with decent gains of around 0.30%, while broader indices -- BSE mid & small cap indices are outperforming larger peers with gains of around a percent each. Traders took encouragement as Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri said the Indian economy is poised to touch $5 trillion next financial year - 2024-25 - and capitalise to double to $10 trillion by the end of this decade. Some support also came in as data released by the Central Board of Direct Taxes showed that the government’s direct tax-to-GDP ratio stood at a 23-year high of 6.11% in FY23. The Centre’s direct tax collections rose 17.8% year-on-year at Rs 16.6 trillion in FY23. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as the markets react to earnings news from several big-name US companies. Traders are also cautious ahead of some crucial economic data from the U.S., including a report on price inflation, and central bank decisions that could impact the outlook for interest rates.

Back home, sugar stocks are in focus as industry body Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said India's year-on sugar production till January 15 in the ongoing 2023-24 sugar year (October-November) is lagging by 5.28%. The sugar production in Maharashtra, which was the top sugar producing state last year, is lagging by 16%. In stock specific development, Pidilite Industries shares were up after the company posted strong Q3 results.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 70561.30, up by 190.75 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 70001.60 and 70611.79. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.84%, while Small cap index was up by 1.03%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 1.84%, Metal up by 1.76%, Telecom up by 1.41%, Basic Materials up by 1.11% and Industrials up by 0.89%, while Realty down by 0.61% and Auto down by 0.18% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 1.86%, Indusind Bank up by 1.86%, Tata Steel up by 1.08%, Infosys up by 1.03% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.02%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 3.10%, Asian Paints down by 1.72%, TCS down by 0.79%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.51% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.39% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over the country’s economic growth, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri has said that the Indian economy is poised to touch $5 trillion next financial year - 2024-25 - and capitalise to double to $10 trillion by the end of this decade. At present, the Indian economy is estimated to be about $3.7 trillion. 

He said ‘We are the fifth-largest economy and the fourth-largest stock market... I think that in the next 1-2 years, we will not only be the fourth-largest economy but we will go further ahead’. He noted ‘I was somewhere told that we would be a $5 trillion economy by 2028. I told him that there is no need to wait until 2028; it will happen by 2024-25. We will then be a $10 trillion economy by 2030’. 

He added global interest in India is increasing by the day, be it in digital infrastructure, the automobile market, energy or biofuels. So, it (the Indian economy) is looking very good. Recently, the National Statistics Office said the Indian economy is expected to grow 7.3 per cent in the current financial year 2023-24, remaining the fastest-growing major economy. India's economy grew 7.2 per cent in 2022-23 and 8.7 per cent in 2021-22.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21314.60, up by 75.80 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 21137.20 and 21316.60. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 4.16%, Indusind Bank up by 2.38%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.13%, SBI up by 1.97% and Coal India up by 1.40%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 2.93%, Asian Paints down by 1.65%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.29%, Grasim Industries down by 0.81% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.81% were the top losers. 

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 slipped 375.02 points or 1.03% to 36,142.55, Jakarta Composite fell 37.52 points or 0.52% to 7,218.71, KOSPI dropped 7.33 points or 0.3% to 2,471.28 and Shanghai Composite was down by 4.19 points or 0.15% to 2,766.79. On the other hand, Hang Seng surged 122.79 points or 0.8% to 15,476.77, Taiwan Weighted added 32.53 points or 0.18% to 17,907.12 and Straits Times was up by 7.21 points or 0.23% to 3,142.46.