Indian markets manage to trade marginally higher

In a volatile session, Indian markets were managing to trade marginally higher in early noon deals, supported by buying at Consumer Durables and Realty counters. Traders took encouragement after the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman noted the rapid growth of the Start-up and Fintech sector of India, especially in the last decade, and welcomed suggestions from the FinTech leaders to achieve greater Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living for consumers. However, gains were limited as traders were cautious ahead of key U.S. inflation and GDP readings and the expiry of February series derivative contracts due this week. On the sectoral front, textile stocks were in watch after the Union Minister for Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal said that the textile industry needs to focus on the international markets that will push them to be more competitive. He said that the Bharat Tex 2024 event is a testament to the capability of the sector to be a leader in the future at a global stage. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, after overall consumer prices in Japan were up 2.2 percent on year in January. That was in line with forecasts and down from 2.6 percent in December. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, inflation rose 0.1 percent - matching expectations and unchanged from the December reading.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.15%, while Small cap index was up by 0.15%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.96%, Realty up by 0.86%, Industrials up by 0.57%, Capital Goods up by 0.55% and IT up by 0.47%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.98%, Energy down by 0.70%, PSU down by 0.43%, Bankex down by 0.36% and Utilities down by 0.15% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 1.81%, Power Grid up by 1.16%, Titan up by 1.06%, JSW Steel up by 1.00% and HCL Tech. up by 0.95%. On the flip side, SBI down by 0.82%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.75%, Axis Bank down by 0.63%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.62% and NTPC down by 0.61% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating firm ICRA in its latest report said that the Indian hotel industry is expected to register a revenue growth of 7-9 per cent in the next financial year 2024-25. It said that sustenance of domestic leisure travel, demand for meetings, incentives, conference and exhibitions (MICE) are the factors which will drive demand in the next financial year, despite a temporary lull during the ensuing general elections. It added that spiritual tourism and Tier 2 cities are expected to contribute meaningfully to the overall demand in the next fiscal.

According to the report, estimates for pan-India hotel occupancy reached a decadal high of 70 per cent to 72 per cent in the current financial year and next fiscal, as compared to 68 per cent to 70 per cent in 2022-23. Pan-India, average room rates (ARRs) are expected to be around Rs 7,200 to Rs 7,400 in the current fiscal, which is likely to rise further to Rs 7,800 to Rs 8,000 in the next financial year.

ICRA holds a positive outlook for the Indian hospitality industry with improvements in credit ratings. It said the demand uptick resulted in a pickup in supply announcements and commencement of deferred projects in the last 18 to 24 months, however, adding that supply would lag demand.  

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22128.05, up by 6.00 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 22085.65 and 22170.00. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.92%, TCS up by 1.83%, Power Grid up by 1.20%, Titan up by 1.06% and JSW Steel up by 0.93%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.46%, UPL down by 1.07%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.03%, Adani Enterprises down by 0.93% and ONGC down by 0.89% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 14.71 points or 0.09% to 16,620.03, Taiwan Weighted lost 93.64 points or 0.5% to 18,854.41, Jakarta Composite plunged 16.06 points or 0.22% to 7,267.76, Straits Times fell 25.01 points or 0.79% to 3,146.11 and KOSPI dropped 22.03 points or 0.84% to 2,625.05, while Shanghai Composite strengthened 24.14 points or 0.81% to 3,001.16 and Nikkei 225 surged 5.81 points or 0.01% to 39,239.52.