Markets maintain solid gains in late morning deals

Domestic equity markets maintained their solid gains and were trading higher over one percent in late morning deals as market participants enlarged their positions. Hectic buying in Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, Ultratech Cement and Power Grid companies’ stocks helped the markets to maintain their solid gains. Meanwhile, broader indices were also trading in fine fettle with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index gaing in the range of 0.70-0.95%. Traders were getting encouragement as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the initiatives of Customs department like Faceless Assessment and Single Window Clearance need to evolve with the overall objective of growth of trade as every partner needs to collaborate to help India's GDP surpass $5 trillion by 2027-28.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green after Singapore’s central bank left policy unchanged as expected in its first quarterly monetary policy decision of 2024. Back home, traders were seen pilling up position in Oil & Gas, Utilities, Energy, PSU and Power, while selling was witnessed in IT, TECK and FMCG. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 71472.23, up by 771.56 points or 1.09% after trading in a range of 70880.54 and 71596.92. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.95%, while Small cap index up by 0.72%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 3.36%, Utilities up by 3.27%, Energy up by 3.24%, PSU up by 2.47%, Power up by 2.46% while, IT down by 0.47%, TECK down by 0.27%, FMCG down by 0.05% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 3.24%, Power Grid up by 3.16%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.88%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.48% and Tata Motors up by 2.21%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.32%, TCS down by 0.59%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.56%, ITC down by 0.42% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.21% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan has said that India needs to focus more on education and healthcare to become a developed economy by 2047. He highlighted the fact that India has maintained an average growth rate of 6 per cent over the past 25 years, which is no easy feat for any country.

Rajan emphasised the need for governance reforms, as well as a focus on education and healthcare, to build a strong foundation. He noted that if India wanted to become a developed country by 2047, it needed to achieve an annual growth rate of more than 7 per cent. He added that at a growth rate of 7 per cent, India’s per capita will grow from the current $2,400 to $10,000 in 2047, which will put the country in the low middle-income bracket.

He stressed the importance of determining the future direction for India's growth, especially considering that the demographic dividend the country currently enjoys will diminish after 2050. He said to sustain growth, India must prioritise education, healthcare, and governance reforms. He also emphasised the need for balanced growth across all sections of society, as consumption growth is currently only strong among the upper income levels.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21633.20, up by 280.60 points or 1.31% after trading in a range of 21429.60 and 21643.60. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 7.16%, Adani Enterprises up by 4.71%, Reliance Industries up by 3.63%, Adani Ports up by 3.63% and Power Grid up by 3.12%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 2.30%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.05%, Infosys down by 0.99%, LTIMindtree down by 0.47% and TCS down by 0.46% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 68.67 points or 0.43% to 16,020.90, Nikkei 225 surged 232.46 points or 0.65% to 35,983.53, Taiwan Weighted added 108.63 points or 0.6% to 18,103.66, KOSPI increased 31.94 points or 1.27% to 2,510.50 and Jakarta Composite gained 17.96 points or 0.25% to 7,155.05. However, Straits Times fell 6.45 points or 0.2% to 3,153.08 and Shanghai Composite weakened 22.87 points or 0.79% to 2,887.35.