Benchmarks continue to trade flat in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade flat in morning deals, ahead of the monthly expiry. Traders remained cautious as provisional data from the NSE showed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 1,509.16 crore on February 27, 2024. Traders took a note of rating agency ICRA’s report that the borrowing cost for states continued to fall for the third week in a row, with the weighted average price falling to 7.44 per cent in the debt auction on Tuesday. The cost had remained at a two-year high throughout January sniffing at 7.8 per cent. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as traders remain cautious and refrained from making significant moves ahead of the release of some key US economic data later in the week, including a closely watched inflation reading.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 73161.53, up by 66.31 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 73011.67 and 73223.11. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.09%, while Small cap index was down by 0.12%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.63%, TECK up by 0.46%, IT up by 0.41%, Bankex up by 0.33% and Capital Goods up by 0.09%, while Utilities down by 0.68%, Realty down by 0.65%, Auto down by 0.40%, Power down by 0.34% and Oil & Gas down by 0.32% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 0.95%, Tata Motors up by 0.85%, Infosys up by 0.81%, SBI up by 0.77% and Indusind Bank up by 0.69%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.87%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.10%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.01%, Wipro down by 0.72% and Power Grid Corporation down by 0.63% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency Icra has said that domestic Commercial Vehicle (CV) volumes are likely to dip 4-7 per cent year-on-year next fiscal with high base effect kicking in. The volumes are expected to remain muted through the January-March quarter on account of a perceived pause in the infrastructural activities as the model code of conduct kicks in ahead of the general elections. It estimates the domestic CV industry volumes to register 2-5 per cent year-on-year growth in volumes in FY24. 

The agency said it expects the long-term demand for CVs to remain intact. The continued focus on infrastructure capex, emphasis on private participation in infrastructure, construction, defence and manufacturing activities would remain a long-term positive for the CV industry.

However, in the near term, Icra expects the volumes to plateau on a high base, amid the transient moderation in economic activity in some sectors with the onset of the general elections. Overall, it said the domestic CV industry's ability to scale previous peaks hinges on sustenance of the macro-economic environment, improvement in infrastructure activity and increased demand for last mile transportation.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22209.70, up by 11.35 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 22168.20 and 22229.15. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.09%, Tata Motors up by 0.88%, Infosys up by 0.87%, TCS up by 0.87% and Tata Consumer Product up by 0.82%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 2.01%, Asian Paints down by 1.88%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.37%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.15% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.93% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 14.21 points or 0.04% to 39,225.31, Hang Seng declined 45.09 points or 0.27% to 16,745.71, Straits Times fell 10.23 points or 0.32% to 3,147.09 and Shanghai Composite weakened 20.08 points or 0.67% to 2,995.40.

On the flip side, KOSPI increased 27.44 points or 1.05% to 2,652.49 and Jakarta Composite gained 26.75 points or 0.37% to 7,312.07.