Bourses trade at day’s high levels in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets traded at day’s high levels in late afternoon session amid value buying by investors. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were also trading in green. Traders took support after a survey conducted by industry body FICCI and banking association Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has showed that the health of the Indian banking sector continues to improve with better asset quality and high credit growth. The eighteenth round of the survey was carried out for the period July to December 2023. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed despite the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, as some markets retreated from recent highs with traders eager to book some profits. European markets were trading mostly in green as traders assessed the outlook for interest rates in a week dominated by central bank policy.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72956.06, up by 314.87 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 72172.09 and 72956.51. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.48%, while Small cap index was up by 1.20%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.12%, Auto up by 1.96%, Realty up by 1.91%, Capital Goods up by 1.45% and Industrials was up by 1.41%, while IT down by 1.80% and TECK was down by 1.27% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 3.52%, Sun Pharma up by 2.58%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.01%, JSW Steel up by 1.94% and Titan Company up by 1.92%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.84%, Wipro down by 2.41%, HCL Tech down by 2.21%, TCS down by 1.55% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has said that Indian oil & gas (O&G) companies’ net zero and sustainability targets are aggressive as against those of international O&G players, given the lower proportion of capex presently allocated to the transition and it being limited to addressing process emissions, Consequently, progress against interim milestones and availability of funding (equity and debt) will be key in assessing its success. 

According to the report, in the next five years, lower margins due to higher R&D spend and incremental capex to transition to green sources could result in lower free cash flows, necessitating an increase in leverage. However, the agency expects credit profiles likely to remain resilient, given the cushion in the existing ratings and government support in case of public sector O&G companies. 

On the long term (beyond five years) basis, India Ratings and Research stated that the potential risk of a further push on R&D and capex spending, higher cost of borrowings and lower funding availability will necessitate pro-active management of the transition journey.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22143.00, up by 131.05 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 21883.30 and 22148.20. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 4.64%, UPL up by 3.86%, Maruti Suzuki up by 3.72%, Apollo Hospital up by 3.00% and SBI Life up by 2.84%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.76%, LTIMindtree down by 2.63%, Wipro down by 2.38%, HCL Tech down by 2.20% and TCS down by 1.39% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 363.63 points or 2.2% to 16,499.47, Shanghai Composite weakened 29.08 points or 0.95% to 3,048.03, KOSPI dropped 6.30 points or 0.23% to 2,748.56 and Straits Times was down by 2.04 points or 0.06% to 3,218.33. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite gained 6.89 points or 0.09% to 7,345.24, Taiwan Weighted added 29.34 points or 0.15% to 20,228.43 and Nikkei 225 was up by 72.77 points or 0.18% to 40,888.43.

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 47.45 points or 0.6% to 7,930.00 and Germany’s DAX was up by 10.31 points or 0.06% to 18,189.56. On the flip side, France’s CAC was down by 18.01 points or 0.22% to 8,161.71.