Markets add gains in late morning deals; Nifty hits all-time high

Indian markets magnified their gains with Nifty hitting all-time high in late morning deals on account of buying by funds and retail investors. Meanwhile, broader indices outperformed their large peers with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index gaining in the range of 0.55-0.85%. Buying in Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank and ITC helped the markets to trade higher. Sentiment got boost as India’s outward foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments rose by 25.7 per cent on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis to $2.09 billion in January 2024, compared to over $1.66 billion in January 2023. On the sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in Consumer Durables, Telecom, Utilities, PSU and FMCG, while, selling was witnessed in Realty, Capital Goods and IT. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed after the People’s Bank of China on Sunday held a key policy rate steady as expected, as markets reassess when the U.S. Federal Reserve might start easing its monetary policy this year. China’s central bank said it was holding the rate unchanged at 2.5% on 500 billion yuan ($69.51 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility. Back home, in the stock specific development, One97 Communications (OCL), parent of fintech major Paytm was locked in the 5 per cent upper circuit on BSE after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its FAQ announced extending the deadline for restrictions on deposit and credit transactions of Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) to March 15. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72668.46, up by 241.82 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 72308.68 and 72739.97. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.56%, while Small cap index up by 0.81%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.42%, Telecom up by 1.26%, Utilities up by 1.04%, PSU up by 0.87% and FMCG up by 0.86%, while Realty down by 0.63%, Capital Goods down by 0.23% and IT down by 0.21% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.79%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.69%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.65%, ITC up by 1.51% and ICICI Bank up by 1.49%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.03%, TCS down by 0.91%, Wipro down by 0.83%, Tata Motors down by 0.51% and Axis Bank down by 0.40% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry has 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). This decision was communicated to the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on February 16, 2024. The DGFT may issue a formal notification soon amending the foreign trade policy on the same. In August 2021, the government announced the rates of tax refunds under export promotion scheme -- RoDTEP, for 8,555 products such as marine goods, yarn and dairy items.

As SEZs and EOUs were kept out of the scheme in the list notified that time, the industry was demanding to include them in the scheme. Under RoDTEP, various central and state duties, taxes, and levies imposed on input products, among others, are refunded to exporters. The current RoDTEP rates are in the range of 0.3 per cent to 4.3 per cent. The primary goal of RoDTEP is to refund taxes and duties that are not rebated under any other scheme. This includes various central, state, and local duties/taxes/levies that are incurred in the process of manufacturing and distribution of exported products but are not refunded through schemes like GST (Goods and Services Tax) or Duty Drawback scheme.

RoDTEP does not include all exports. Exports under certain categories are currently excluded from RoDTEP benefits and that includes products exported from SEZs, EOUs, Electronic Hardware Technology Parks (EHTP), Biotechnology Parks (BTP), and Customs bonded warehouses; exports under Advance Authorisation (which allows duty-free imports of inputs for export production); re-exported imported goods. The list also includes exports subjected to minimum export price or export duty; restricted export or import products; and supplies from Domestic Tariff Areas (DTAs) to SEZ/Free Trade and Warehousing Zones (FTWZ) units.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22121.00, up by 80.30 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 22021.05 and 22150.75. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 2.47%, Grasim Industries up by 2.46%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.01%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.89% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.71%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.03%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.94%, Wipro down by 0.92%, SBI Life down by 0.87% and TCS down by 0.84% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 47.49 points or 0.26% to 18,654.74, Straits Times rose 15.25 points or 0.47% to 3,237.19, KOSPI increased 30.66 points or 1.16% to 2,679.42 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 24.36 points or 0.85% to 2,890.26. However, Hang Seng declined 196.02 points or 1.2% to 16,143.94, Nikkei 225 slipped 37.76 points or 0.1% to 38,449.48 and Jakarta Composite plunged 17.66 points or 0.24% to 7,317.89.