Benchmarks trade in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks erased initial losses and were trading in green in morning deals, led by gains in Consumer Durables, Industrials and Realty stocks. Traders took support with Economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) stating that implementation of key strategic reforms such as simplification of customs duty structure, Goods and Services Tax (GST), and not incentivising low value-added electric vehicles would help India ensure its sustainable development and inclusive growth. It also said that India is standing on the cusp of a transformative era and there is an urgent need for comprehensive economic reforms. Some support came as Industry body the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has made a case for pushing reforms in sectors like land, labour, and agriculture by the Modi 3.0 government to accelerate economic growth, which is estimated to be around 8 per cent in the current financial year. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as investors pondered the outlook for U.S. rates after the Federal Reserve tempered its rate-cut views even as inflation came in softer than expected, while the yen was shaky before the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76887.64, up by 76.74 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 76549.05 and 77001.70. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.69%, while Small cap index was up by 0.94%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.02%, Industrials up by 1.02%, Realty up by 0.96%, Capital Goods up by 0.85% and Telecom up by 0.82%, while IT down by 0.48% and TECK down by 0.35% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC Bank up by 0.83%, Titan Company up by 0.66%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.63%, Tata Motors up by 0.48% and Power Grid Corporation up by 0.45%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 1.20%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.15%, TCS down by 0.93%, Wipro down by 0.75% and NTPC down by 0.43% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Industry body the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has made a case for pushing reforms in sectors like land, labour, and agriculture by the Modi 3.0 government to accelerate economic growth, which is estimated to be around 8 per cent in the current financial year.

CII President Sanjiv Puri said a lot of policy interventions in the past have put the economy on a much stronger wicket. He stated ‘The growth rate is poised to touch 8 per cent during the current year, marking the fourth consecutive year of above 7 per cent + growth. The growth estimate hinges critically on addressing the unfinished reform agenda on priority, in addition to improvement in world trade prospects aiding our exports, twin engines of investment and consumption doing well and expectations of a normal monsoon among other factors.’

Expressing optimism regarding the economy's performance, he said, ‘Very clearly, we are expecting all three sectors of the economy -- agricuture, services and industry -- to fire and do well next year.’ He added that the industry body expects inflation to be in the region of 4-4.5 per cent in the current fiscal.

Besides, he said private sector investment, which has been an area of concern, was robust and broad-based across sectors. He said ‘Private sector investment has been an area of concern sometime back, but the good news today is that it is in the right trajectory... it is robust. It had dropped to 20.7 per cent of GDP and it is now at 23.8 per cent, which is more than the pre-Covid levels.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23439.30, up by 40.40 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 23334.25 and 23469.45. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Grasim Industries up by 2.17%, Shriram Finance up by 2.08%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 1.69%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.33% and BPCL up by 0.91%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 1.20%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.00%, TCS down by 0.98%, Wipro down by 0.77% and Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.62% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 157.45 points or 0.87% to 17,955.18, Jakarta Composite plunged 67.38 points or 1% to 6,764.18, Shanghai Composite weakened 16.84 points or 0.56% to 3,012.08 and Straits Times fell 17.48 points or 0.53% to 3,307.05.

On the flip side, KOSPI increased 7.80 points or 0.28% to 2,762.69, Nikkei 225 surged 148.01 points or 0.38% to 38,868.48 and Taiwan Weighted added 142.41 points or 0.64% to 22,454.45.