Markets trade flat with positive bias in late afternoon session

In volatile trading session, Indian equity markets traded near neutral lines with positive bias in late afternoon session. Traders were seen piling up positions in Realty and power sectors’ stocks while selling was witnessed in IT and TECK sectors’ stocks. Investors turned their focus towards RBI policy. Sector wise, Tyre Industry remained in limelight as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has taken strides to bolster the Indian Tyre Industry. It stated with a surge in domestic consumption and exports, fueled by increasing mobility and industrialization, the Indian tyre sector has witnessed notable expansion. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed on hopes for more Chinese measures in support of battered markets, while traders in most other markets tracked Wall Street advances fuelled by strong earnings. European markets were trading mostly in red amid ongoing uncertainty over the rate cut outlook. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72284.45, up by 98.36 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 71938.22 and 72559.21. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.17%, while Small cap index was up by 0.50%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.23%, Telecom up by 1.38%, Power up by 1.29%, Utilities up by 1.10% and Consumer discretionary was up by 1.08%, while IT down by 0.97% and TECK was down by 0.70% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 3.14%, JSW Steel up by 2.78%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.19%, Asian Paints up by 1.95% and Bajaj Finance up by 1.87%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.86%, Power Grid down by 1.75%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.08%, TCS down by 0.82% and HDFC Bank down by 0.82% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to increase adoption of renewable energy and use of green hydrogen as envisaged in the National Green Hydrogen Mission, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is working on the modalities for promoting the use of green hydrogen in supporting round-the-clock electricity.

The officials had detailed discussions on the various potential options for using Green Hydrogen as a storage medium for supporting round-the-clock power and peak power demand. They also discussed various mechanisms of providing Government support for such projects. The policy mechanisms being considered include one based on the Contract for Difference (CfD) methodology, which is based on the difference between the market price and an agreed strike price.

Further, the Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy R. K. Singh gave directions to the officials to draft the scheme guidelines, based on the economics, technologies and current and future market conditions of the green hydrogen and power sector. The Minister underlined the growing power demand and the importance of round-the-clock renewable energy in reducing the cost of renewable energy and making it affordable.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21949.75, up by 20.35 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 21860.15 and 22053.30. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI up by 3.28%, JSW Steel up by 2.82%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.30%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.23% and Asian Paints up by 2.22%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.01%, Power Grid down by 1.80%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.07%, Adani Ports down by 0.97% and TCS down by 0.89% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Shanghai Composite strengthened 40.21 points or 1.42% to 2,829.70, KOSPI increased 33.38 points or 1.28% to 2,609.58 and Straits Times was up by 30.37 points or 0.96% to 3,156.05. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite plunged 14.97 points or 0.21% to 7,232.44, Nikkei 225 slipped 40.74 points or 0.11% to 36,119.92 and Hang Seng was down by 54.98 points or 0.34% to 16,081.89.

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 7.91 points or 0.1% to 7,673.10 and Germany’s DAX was down by 24.74 points or 0.15% to 17,008.50.  On the flip side, France’s CAC was up by 3.34 points or 0.04% to 7,642.31.