Benchmarks extend gains in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks extended gains in morning deals, on the back of buying action in Utilities, Power and Oil & Gas counters and firm global market cues. Sentiments remained positive with Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi’s statement that India will have surplus domestic coal by the financial year 2025-26 that can be used to run the imported coal-based (ICB) power plants. He asserted that the government is aiming at boosting domestic production and reducing fossil fuel imports. Traders took a note of private report stating that the commerce department is working towards setting up an ‘export advisory panel’, comprising senior industry officials, as part of India’s strategy to promote the benefits of the free-trade agreements (FTAs) that have been signed and help exporters leverage them better. On the global front, Asian markets are trading higher after China rolled out measures to stabilise its markets, while U.S. data added to hopes of early interest rate cuts. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 71445.82, up by 745.15 points or 1.05% after trading in a range of 70880.54 and 71499.44. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.92%, while Small cap index was up by 0.76%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 2.91%, Power up by 2.18%, Oil & Gas up by 2.05%, PSU up by 2.02% and Energy up by 2.01%, while IT down by 0.29%, TECK down by 0.05%, Realty down by 0.03% and Healthcare down by 0.02% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid Corp up by 2.93%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.63%, Sun Pharma up by 2.19%, Axis Bank up by 2.14% and Larsen & Toubro up by 2.04%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 1.22%, Infosys down by 0.87%, ITC down by 0.36%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.21% and TCS down by 0.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union minister Ajay Bhatt has said that India is becoming self-reliant in defence production, and for the first time, leading the top 25 countries in defence exports. Further, he said the government has issued four lists of 4,666 defence components whose import is banned, resulting in huge savings.

He stated the defence exports rose from Rs 4,682 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 15,916 crore in 2022-23. (Defence) export till December 2023 is about Rs 9,428 crore. 

Besides, he said almost all defence PSUs are in profit after the ordnance factories were decentralised.  He also said the defence ministry is promoting innovation and technology.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21583.70, up by 231.10 points or 1.08% after trading in a range of 21429.60 and 21603.50. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 5.43%, ONGC up by 4.55%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 3.83%, SBI Life Insurance up by 3.01% and Power Grid Corp up by 2.87%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 2.05%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.63%, JSW Steel down by 1.15%, LTIMindtree down by 1.14% and Bajaj Auto down by 0.86% were the top losers. 

All Asian markets are trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 313.85 points or 0.88% to 36,064.92, Taiwan Weighted added 107.05 points or 0.59% to 18,102.08, Hang Seng advanced 149.79 points or 0.93% to 16,102.02, Straits Times rose 0.08 points or 0% to 3,159.61, KOSPI increased 34.40 points or 1.39% to 2,512.96, Jakarta Composite gained 21.33 points or 0.3% to 7,158.42 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 8.59 points or 0.29% to 2,918.81.