Benchmarks remain in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green in morning deals, led by gains in Telecom, Utilities and Consumer Durables stocks. Sentiments remained positive as India’s G-20 Sherpa and former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant stated that India needs to grow at an annual rate of 9-10 per cent for around three decades and constant innovations to become a $35 trillion economy by 2047. Some support also came as the commerce ministry decided to extend export benefits under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme for companies in the special economic zones (SEZs) and export-oriented units (EOUs). Besides, exchange data showed Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were net buyers as they purchased securities worth Rs 253.28 crore. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed as fading chances for early rate cuts globally soured the mood, though investors are hoping China markets return from holiday with a spring in their step.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72543.89, up by 117.25 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 72308.68 and 72675.46. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.49%, while Small cap index was up by 0.82%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.40%, Utilities up by 1.16%, Consumer Durables up by 1.05%, Power up by 0.94% and PSU up by 0.87%, while Realty down by 0.80%, IT down by 0.37%, Capital Goods down by 0.23% and TECK down by 0.11% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 1.52%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.40%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.25%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.08% and Nestle up by 1.07%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.13%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.01%, Wipro down by 0.86%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.64% and Axis Bank down by 0.54% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) has said that the domestic technology industry's revenue is projected to grow 3.8 per cent to $254 billion this fiscal (FY24).

Excluding hardware, the revenue is expected to touch $199 billion, a growth of 3.3 per cent over FY23. It stated the Engineering Research & Development (ER&D) sector alone contributed 48 per cent to the total export revenue addition in FY24.

It stated the projected 3.8 per cent growth is despite a 50 per cent slide in tech spending and 6 per cent decline in tech contracts in 2023 globally. It added this means the industry has added $9.3 billion incremental revenue in the fiscal. Further, it said despite reports of massive retrenchments, the industry added net 60,000 jobs, taking the total headcount to 5.43 million in the year. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22092.55, up by 51.85 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 22021.05 and 22107.60. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 2.04%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.90%, Grasim Industries up by 1.76%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.61% and ITC up by 1.53%. On the flip side, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.27%, TCS down by 1.10%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.98%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.93% and Wipro down by 0.79% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 46.11 points or 0.25% to 18,653.36, Straits Times rose 8.23 points or 0.26% to 3,230.17, KOSPI increased 30.29 points or 1.14% to 2,679.05 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 25.9 points or 0.9% to 2,891.80.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 slipped 35.89 points or 0.09% to 38,451.35, Jakarta Composite plunged 16.66 points or 0.23% to 7,318.89 and Hang Seng declined 163.81 points or 1.01% to 16,176.15.