Benchmarks remain in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained in green in morning deals, led by gains in Banking, Industrials and Capital Goods stocks. Sentiments remained positive with CRISIL Ratings’ report stated that capital goods makers are likely to see revenue rise 9-11% in fiscal 2025, led by continued significant outlays towards railways (including metros), defence, conventional and renewable sectors. This compares with an expected around 13% growth in fiscal 2024. Traders took a note of RBI MPC member Jayanth R Varma’s statement that with retail inflation nearing the RBI’s target of 4 per cent, the monetary policy needs to shift focus on promoting growth. He further said CPI inflation in 2024-25 is projected to be only about 0.5 percentage point above target, and core inflation is extremely benign. On the sectoral front, Auto stocks remained in limelight as CareEdge report stated that the passenger vehicle (PV) industry in India is anticipated to witness moderate growth in the fiscal year 2025, with sales volumes expected to expand by 3 per cent to 5 per cent. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed as investors awaited more cues on a potential trade war between China and the West, while upcoming inflation prints were also in focus. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77556.59, up by 215.51 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 77459.60 and 77636.19. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.08%, while Small cap index was up by 0.58%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.84%, Industrials up by 0.61%, Capital Goods up by 0.51%, Telecom up by 0.42% and Consumer Durables up by 0.36%, while Realty down by 1.37%, Utilities down by 0.31%, IT down by 0.27%, Metal down by 0.22% and Oil & Gas down by 0.19% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 1.80%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.65%, HDFC Bank up by 1.19%, ICICI Bank up by 0.68% and SBI up by 0.56%. On the flip side, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 0.77%, HCL Technologies down by 0.65%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.64%, TCS down by 0.59% and Asian Paints down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings in its economic outlook for Asia Pacific said that it has retained India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for the current financial year (FY25) at 6.8 per cent and said high interest rates and lower fiscal spur would temper demand. 

Its estimates for FY25 is lower than that of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which earlier this month projected the Indian economy to expand at 7.2 per cent in the current fiscal, on the back of improving rural demand and moderating inflation.

For the fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27, it projected growth rates of 6.9 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively. It said India's economic growth continues to surprise on the upside with the economy growing 8.2 per cent in fiscal year 2023-24.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23591.80, up by 53.95 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 23564.95 and 23618.10. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 1.80%, Axis Bank up by 1.72%, HDFC Bank up by 1.28%, Hero MotoCorp up by 0.91% and Britannia Industries up by 0.88%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 1.03%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 0.87%, SBI Life Insurance down by 0.84%, ONGC down by 0.70% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.70% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 81.49 points or 0.45% to 18,109.20, Straits Times rose 9.22 points or 0.28% to 3,323.36, KOSPI increased 11.12 points or 0.4% to 2,775.85 and Nikkei 225 surged 261.12 points or 0.67% to 39,065.77.

On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted lost 45.77 points or 0.2% to 22,767.93, Jakarta Composite plunged 21.32 points or 0.31% to 6,867.85 and Shanghai Composite weakened 11.15 points or 0.38% to 2,951.95.