Domestic indices trade in green in early deals

Indian equity markets have made positive start and are trading higher by around half percent in early deals on Wednesday on account of buying in Reliance Industries, Maruti Suzuki, Hindustan Unilever and Axis Bank companies’ stocks. Meanwhile, broader indices are also trading in green with BSE Mid cap and Small cap index gaining in the range of 0.45-0.80%. Sentiments got boost as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said India's current account deficit declined to $10.5 billion or 1.2 per cent of the GDP in October-December quarter of current fiscal from $11.4 billion in the previous three months and $16.8 billion a year back. Besides, some support also came in as Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran said various initiatives from the government and growing investment are going to create more job opportunities during the decade.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed following weak cues from the US markets overnight. Back home, all the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in green led by Energy, Oil & Gas, Power, Realty and Industrials. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72791.07, up by 320.77 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 72600.73 and 72809.07. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.49%, while Small cap index up by 0.80%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.36%, Oil & Gas up by 1.36%, Power up by 1.13%, Realty up by 1.03% and Industrials up by 1.02%, while there were no losers.  

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 2.08%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.33%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.82%, Asian Paints up by 0.57% and Axis Bank up by 0.52%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 0.33%, Nestle down by 0.26%, Wipro down by 0.24%, Indusind Bank down by 0.12% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.08% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran has said that Various initiatives from the government and growing investment are going to create more job opportunities during the decade. Nageswaran said the last decade of the century was marked by a decline in capital formation in the economy and moderation in credit growth.

He stated ‘Hopefully, those things are a thing of the past. Non food credit growth is now running close to 20 per cent, balance sheets of companies and banks are in good shape and hiring (is showing improvement).’ Quoting 2021-22 data, he said, employment in agriculture declined by 15 lakh, manufacturing and services added 37 lakh jobs each and the construction sector generated 19 lakh jobs. This trend we hope will continue in the future, as indicated by the robust gross value added growth in manufacturing and construction sectors.

Talking about various government initiatives for job creation, Nageswaran said, skill development, provision of 12 per cent contribution of employers towards EPFO by the government, New Education Policy, and important structural reform in human development have been undertaken. Apart from these, he said, the government has invested in physical infrastructure facilitating industrial and manufacturing growth, and generating employment in those sectors and restoring the health of financial institutions such as banks and non-banks.

Talking about areas of improvement, he said, there is a need to make regulatory and tax policy implementation regimes less onerous, less cumbersome, less coercive, and also less predatory. He said It is still not easy in India to close business in India.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22117.45, up by 112.75 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 22052.85 and 22118.25. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Reliance Industries up by 2.23%, BPCL up by 1.78%, Adani Ports up by 1.62%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.38% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.88%. On the flip side, UPL down by 0.74%, Apollo Hospital down by 0.41%, Infosys down by 0.31%, JSW Steel down by 0.28% and Wipro down by 0.26% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 124.75 points or 0.75% to 16,493.57, KOSPI dropped 4.42 points or 0.16% to 2,752.67, Shanghai Composite weakened 15.74 points or 0.52% to 3,015.74 and Jakarta Composite plunged 15.01 points or 0.2% to 7,350.65. However, Nikkei 225 surged 450.58 points or 1.12% to 40,848.61, Taiwan Weighted added 60.87 points or 0.3% to 20,187.36 and Straits Times rose 23.76 points or 0.73% to 3,257.09.