Domestic indices trade slightly higher as FM presenting Union Budget 2024

Domestic equity markets traded slightly higher in late morning deals as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting the Union Budget 2024 in Parliament. This is an interim budget as it comes just ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections. Buying in Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra and TCS helped the markets to trade higher. Traders were getting some encouragement as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that Indian economy has witnessed positive transformation in last 10 years. Sentiments also got boost as India’s final manufacturing PMI showed that manufacturing activity accelerated in January. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) recovered from an 18-month low of 54.9 in December to 56.5 in January. Aquaculture industry related stocks traded higher after Finance Minister announced setting up of five aqua park.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as the Fed pushed back against bets on an interest rate cut in March. Back home, traders were seen pilling up position in Utilities, Auto, Power, FMCG and PSU, while selling was witnessed in Telecom, Realty, Capital Goods, Basic Materials and Metal.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 71907.91, up by 155.80 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 71618.36 and 72151.02. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.62%, while Small cap index down by 0.33%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.37%, Auto up by 1.18%, Power up by 1.03%, FMCG up by 0.88%, PSU up by 0.30%, while Telecom down by 1.16%, Realty down by 1.10%, Capital Goods down by 0.70%, Basic Materials down by 0.65% and Metal down by 0.65% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 3.99%, Power Grid up by 3.18%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.91%, NTPC up by 1.73% and TCS up by 1.66%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.16%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.13%, Wipro down by 0.99%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.96% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.86% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the eight core industries growth hit a 14-month low of 3.8 per cent year-on-year in December 2023 on the back of a high base and a moderation in the growth of six constituent sectors. In December 2022, the core sector had grown 8.3 per cent.  In November 2023, core sector growth had printed in at 7.8 percent. All eight sectors registered a growth in December 2023, except crude oil, which witnessed a drop of 1 per cent. The Eight Core Industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity - comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).  

Cement production, having 5.37 per cent weight increased by 1.3 per cent in December, 2023 over December, 2022 and its cumulative index increased by 9.2 per cent during April to December, 2023-24 over corresponding period of the previous year. Coal production, having 10.33 per cent weight increased by 10.6 per cent in December, 2023 over December, 2022 and its cumulative index increased by 12.5 per cent during April to December, 2023-24 over corresponding period of the previous year. Steel production having 17.92 per cent weight increased by 5.9 per cent in December, 2023 over December, 2022 and its cumulative index increased by 13.3 per cent during April to December, 2023-24 over corresponding period of the previous year.

Electricity generation having 19.85 per cent weight increased by 0.6 per cent in December, 2023 over December, 2022 and its cumulative index increased by 6.9 per cent during April to December, 2023-24 over corresponding period of the previous year. Fertilizer production having 2.63 per cent weight increased by 5.8 per cent in December, 2023 over December, 2022 and its cumulative index increased by 6.2 per cent during April to December, 2023-24 over corresponding period of the previous year.

Natural Gas production having 6.88 per cent weight increased by 6.6 per cent in December, 2023 over December, 2022 and its cumulative index increased by 5.6 per cent during April to December, 2023-24 over corresponding period of the previous year. Petroleum Refinery production having 28.04 per cent weight increased by 2.6 per cent inDecember, 2023 over December, 2022 and its cumulative index increased by 4.7 per cent during April to December, 2023-24 over corresponding period of the previous year.

However, Crude Oil production having 8.98 per cent weight decreased by 1.0 per cent in December, 2023 over December, 2022 and its cumulative index declined by 0.3 per cent during April to December, 2023-24 over corresponding period of the previous year. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21748.25, up by 22.55 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 21667.15 and 21832.95. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 4.07%, Power Grid up by 3.32%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.03%, NTPC up by 1.70% and Eicher Motors up by 1.60%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 2.16%, ONGC down by 1.74%, Grasim Industries down by 1.73%, LTIMindtree down by 1.53% and Ultratech Cement down by 1.32% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 145.38 points or 0.94% to 15,630.45, Taiwan Weighted added 78.55 points or 0.44% to 17,968.11, KOSPI increased 41.80 points or 1.67% to 2,538.89 and Jakarta Composite gained 19.83 points or 0.27% to 7,227.77. However, Nikkei 225 slipped 294.82 points or 0.81% to 35,991.89, Straits Times fell 13 points or 0.41% to 3,140.01 and Shanghai Composite weakened 10.71 points or 0.38% to 2,777.84.