Bourses continue to trade in green territory

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green territory in late morning session supported by gains in Realty, Metal and IT stocks. Sentiments on the street remained positive with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das’ statement that the recent wave of financial market reforms spearheaded by the RBI are geared towards establishing a robust foundation for addressing the burgeoning funding needs of the economy, providing cost-effective hedging alternatives, and enhancing competitiveness in global markets. Traders overlooked the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Report stated that frequent weather shocks caused by climate change pose challenges for the monetary policy as well as downside risks to economic growth. It said global average temperatures are on a rise, with accompanying increase in extreme weather events (EWE), and the economic and social impact of global warming is becoming increasingly evident. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green ahead of the release of closely watched U.S. inflation data, the release of FOMC minutes and the ECB monetary policy meeting later in the week. Back home, on the sectoral front, stocks related to steel sector remained in limelight as government data showed India has reported a 38 per cent surge in steel imports to 8.319 million tonnes, becoming a net importer of the commodity during 2023-24 financial year. India had imported 6.022 million tonnes (MnT) of finished steel during the preceding 2022-23 fiscal. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 75085.52, up by 343.02 points or 0.46% after trading in a range of 74792.77 and 75124.28. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.40%, while Small cap index was up by 0.59%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.21%, Metal up by 1.12%, IT up by 1.08%, Basic Materials up by 0.99% and TECK up by 0.89%, while Energy down by 0.06% and FMCG down by 0.04% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 2.18%, Infosys up by 1.94%, ICICI Bank up by 1.41%, Axis Bank up by 1.10% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.05%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 0.41%, Reliance Industries down by 0.23%, Titan Company down by 0.16%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.12% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has said the recent wave of financial market reforms spearheaded by the RBI are geared towards establishing a robust foundation for addressing the burgeoning funding needs of the economy, providing cost-effective hedging alternatives, and enhancing competitiveness in global markets. He said ‘Financial market reforms by RBI aimed at providing strong bedrock for markets.’ He stated ‘Retail participation in G-secs through the Retail Direct scheme has been growing. The VRR scheme has attracted interest from FPIs, especially for corporate bonds. In recent months, robust foreign inflows in G-secs have been witnessed. Non-resident participation in OTC derivative markets has increased, adding to liquidity and diversity.’ 

The reform initiatives, spanning various dimensions, have aimed to streamline capital raising, eliminate segmentation between onshore and offshore markets, broaden market participation, foster innovation, fortify market integrity and resilience, and ensure fair conduct by all stakeholders. Das lauded the positive response to regulatory measures, noting the widening participation base across various segments. Foreign inflows into G-secs have surged in recent months, alongside increased non-resident participation in Over-the-Counter (OTC) derivative markets, enriching liquidity and diversity. Notably, convergence in prices and spreads between domestic and overseas markets has been achieved to a considerable extent.

However, he highlighted areas necessitating further attention. He underscored the imperative of expanding the participation of domestic banks in derivative markets, both domestically and offshore, to augment market depth and resilience. He ‘The participation of domestic banks in derivative markets remains limited with only a small set of active market-makers. Participation of Indian banks in global markets is growing but it is quite small. Domestic banks are dealing with market-makers in global markets rather than with end clients and are yet to emerge as market makers of note globally.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22747.00, up by 80.70 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 22675.25 and 22768.40. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 2.33%, Tata Steel up by 2.24%, Infosys up by 1.99%, ICICI Bank up by 1.31% and Apollo Hospital up by 1.09%. On the flip side, Tata Consumer Product down by 1.04%, Coal India down by 1.02%, BPCL down by 0.82%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.76% and Eicher Motors down by 0.65% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 351.5 points or 0.89% to 39,698.54, Taiwan Weighted added 384.36 points or 1.88% to 20,802.06, Hang Seng advanced 124.49 points or 0.74% to 16,857.34 and Straits Times rose 26.16 points or 0.81% to 3,242.15.

On the flip side, KOSPI dropped 9.04 points or 0.33% to 2,708.61 and Shanghai Composite weakened 4.25 points or 0.14% to 3,042.80.