Sensex, Nifty add gains in early noon deals

A strong buying at IT and TECK counters helped Indian equity benchmarks to extend their gains in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty holding notable gains, despite negative cues from other Asian markets. Domestic sentiments were optimistic, as India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has observed a notable increase in the resolution of cases under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP), with the percentage of cases closed through the approval of resolution plans reaching 29% in Q3 FY24 (Q3 FY23: 17%).

On the global front, Asian markets are trading lower, even after China's service sector continued to expand in March. The survey results from S&P Global showed that the Caixin service sector Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 52.7 in March, in line with expectations, from 52.5 in February. The score signaled an increase in services activity for the fifteenth successive month.

Back home, financial sector stocks were in watch, as deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao has said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will keep continuous vigil to mitigate risks as unbridled credit growth can be deleterious to the health of a financial entity and if widespread, it could give rise to systemic concerns. Rao said as a regulator, the RBI's endeavour always is to promote a robust and resilient financial intermediation system with an appropriate regulatory and supervisory framework.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74068.32, up by 164.41 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 73540.27 and 74073.38. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index surged by 0.61%, while Small cap index was up by 1.23%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.28%, TECK up by 1.20%, Oil & Gas up by 0.90%, Utilities up by 0.90% and Metal up by 0.83%, while Realty down by 1.57%, Auto down by 0.29% and FMCG down by 0.20% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 2.18%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.70%, Axis Bank up by 1.68%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.48% and HCL Tech. up by 1.24%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 2.32%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.12%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.92%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.79% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.69% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has raised Rs 40,314 crore through various modes of asset monetisation in financial year 2023-24, against the target of Rs 28,968 crore.

The ministry had raised Rs 15,968 crore through monetisation of 4 toll-operate-transfer (TOT) bundles, Rs 15,700 crore through Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) and Rs 8,646 crore through securitisation. The ministry had raised Rs 32,855 crore in 2022-23 through various modes of asset monetisation.

Currently, MoRTH monetises its assets under three different modes -- toll-operate-transfer (TOT) model, Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) and project-based financing, in order to provide all categories of investors an opportunity to invest in assets pertaining to highways and associated infrastructure.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22502.65, up by 49.35 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 22346.50 and 22504.85. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Shriram Finance up by 2.72%, Divi's Lab up by 2.45%, TCS up by 2.30%, Axis Bank up by 1.73% and Hindalco up by 1.72%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 2.38%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.43%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.23%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.18% and Britannia down by 0.89% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading lower; Hang Seng declined 202.18 points or 1.19% to 16,729.34, Taiwan Weighted lost 128.97 points or 0.63% to 20,337.60, Jakarta Composite plunged 69.97 points or 0.97% to 7,167.01, Straits Times fell 22.24 points or 0.68% to 3,225.48, Shanghai Composite weakened 5.46 points or 0.18% to 3,069.50, KOSPI dropped 46.19 points or 1.71% to 2,706.97 and Nikkei 225 slipped 387.06 points or 0.98% to 39,451.85.