Positive momentum continues over Dalal Street

A positive momentum continued over the Dalal Street in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty trading notably higher, aided by positive cues from other Asian markets along with heavy buying at Auto and Consumer Discretionary counters. Sentiments remained upbeat, as statutory body, Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) in its latest provisional payroll data has showed that 18.86 lakh new employees have been added in the month of December 2023. Around 23,347 new establishments have been registered and brought under the social security umbrella of the Employees’ State Insurance Scheme in the month of December 2023, thus ensuring coverage to more workers. Besides, the commerce ministry has said that the next round of negotiations between India and South American nation Peru for a free trade agreement (FTA) is expected to start in April 2024. The proposed agreement is aimed at promoting bilateral trade and investments between the two countries.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after Export prices in South Korea advanced 3.2 percent on month in January, after slipping 0.1 percent in December. Individually, agricultural, forestry and marine export prices rose 0.4 percent on month and manufacturing products climbed 3.2 percent. Import prices were up 2.2 percent on month after dropping 1.7 percent in December.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72404.13, up by 353.75 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 72218.10 and 72469.45. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.71%, while Small cap index was up by 0.78%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 2.40%, Consumer Discretionary up by 1.52%, Healthcare up by 1.49%, Realty up by 1.20% and Basic Materials up by 1.17%, while Utilities down by 0.48%, Oil & Gas down by 0.42%, Power down by 0.27% and Energy down by 0.09% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 4.62%, Maruti Suzuki up by 3.00%, Tata Motors up by 2.18%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.99% and Wipro up by 1.79%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.88%, Axis Bank down by 0.79%, Reliance Industries down by 0.39%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.26% and HDFC Bank down by 0.05% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry has said that the next round of negotiations between India and South American nation Peru for a free trade agreement (FTA) is expected to start in April 2024. The proposed agreement is aimed at promoting bilateral trade and investments between the two countries. In such pacts, two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them, besides easing norms to promote trade in services.

The ministry said the 6th round of India-Peru negotiations for a trade agreement was held from February 12 to 14, 2024, in Lima, Peru, to continue the work that started in 2017 when the negotiation process was formally announced.  In this round, nine working groups held in-person meetings on trade in goods, rules of origin, trade in services, movement of natural persons, customs procedures and trade facilitation, and dispute settlement.

During 2022-23, the bilateral trade between India and Peru stood at $3.12 billion. India exported goods worth $865.91 million to Peru and imported goods valued at $2.25 billion. Key Indian exports to Peru include motor vehicles/cars, cotton yarn and pharmaceuticals, while imported items include gold, copper ores and concentrates.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22042.05, up by 131.30 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 21968.95 and 22050.70. There were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 4.81%, Bajaj Auto up by 3.45%, Maruti Suzuki up by 3.06%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 3.01% and Tata Motors up by 2.16%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.81%, Britannia down by 0.88%, Axis Bank down by 0.76%, ONGC down by 0.72% and Apollo Hospital Ent. down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 396.3 points or 2.49% to 16,340.93, Jakarta Composite gained 46.02 points or 0.63% to 7,349.30, Straits Times rose 48.45 points or 1.53% to 3,225.14, KOSPI increased 34.96 points or 1.32% to 2,648.76 and Nikkei 225 surged 329.3 points or 0.86% to 38,487.24, while Taiwan Weighted lost 37.32 points or 0.2% to 18,607.25.