Benchmarks end at fresh closing peaks on Wednesday

Indian equity benchmarks ended Wednesday’s session at fresh closing peaks, driven by gains in Banking, PSU and Telecom stocks amid firm global market trends. Markets opened at fresh highs with Nifty and Sensex crossing 24,300 and 80,000 marks respectively, for the first time. Traders took encouragement as Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India, forecast reaching a $4 trillion GDP milestone this year, outpacing global growth rates. Some solace came as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the southwest monsoon covered the entire country on Tuesday, six days ahead of its normal date, boosting prospects of kharif sowing. Sentiments remained optimistic as Union Minister JP Nadda revealed that India has surpassed the United Kingdom to become the fifth largest economy in the world, and is projected to soon secure the third position. He noted that the Indian economy has grown by 8.2% in 2023-24, making it the fastest-growing major economy this fiscal year.

Sentiments remained up-beat in late afternoon deals, as India’s services sector activity improved during the month of June amid a stronger rise in new orders and an unprecedented expansion in international sales. According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose to 60.5 in June from 60.2 in May. Further, the HSBC India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- also surged to 60.9 in June as against 60.5 in May. Meanwhile, the RBI has proposed rationalising regulations that cover export and import transactions with an aim to promote ease of doing business and empower banks to provide more efficient service to their foreign exchange customers. 

On the global front, European markets were trading higher as traders reacted to dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and looked ahead to key elections in France and the U.K. Asian markets settled mostly higher on Wednesday as comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reinforced expectations that the Fed might cut interest rates this year. Back home, railways stocks were in focus as data released by the ministry of railways showed that Indian Railways witnessed a 10 per cent increase in freight loading in June, marking a rare double-digit rise in its goods transportation in the past few months.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 545.35 points or 0.69% to 79,986.80, and the CNX Nifty was up by 162.65 points or 0.67% points to 24,286.50. 

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 80,074.30 and 79,754.95 respectively. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.86%, while Small cap index was up by 0.86%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.75%, PSU up by 1.67%, Telecom up by 1.44%, Industrials up by 1.09% and Capital Goods up by 0.98%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.03% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.49%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.37%, HDFC Bank up by 2.18%, Axis Bank up by 2.07% and Indusind Bank up by 1.82%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.27%, Titan Company down by 1.14%, Reliance Industries down by 0.86%, Tata Motors down by 0.54% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.26% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s services sector activity improved during the month of June amid a stronger rise in new orders and an unprecedented expansion in international sales. According to the survey report, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose to 60.5 in June from 60.2 in May. Further, the HSBC India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- also surged to 60.9 in June as against 60.5 in May.

The survey report noted that new orders received by Indian service providers continued to increase in June, extending the current sequence of expansion to nearly three years. The pace of growth was sharp, faster than in May and well above its long-run average. Besides, positive client appetite encouraged service providers in India to recruit additional staff at the end of the first fiscal quarter. The pace of job creation was marked and the strongest in 22 months. 

On the inflation front, average input prices rose at a below-trend rate, however, and one that was the softest in four months. Fewer than 5% of services companies opted to share additional cost burdens with their clients by lifting selling prices in June, resulting in only a moderate rate of charge inflation. The uptick was the slowest since February. Further, service providers remained confident of a rise in business activity over the course of the coming 12 months, with nearly 23% of panellists expressing optimism.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 24,309.15 and 24,207.10. There were 40 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Consumer Products up by 3.55%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.39%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.23%, HDFC Bank up by 2.14% and Axis Bank up by 1.82%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.23%, Titan Company down by 1.11%, Reliance Industries down by 0.68%, Tata Motors down by 0.41% and Hindalco down by 0.40% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 45.29 points or 0.56% to 8,166.49, France’s CAC rose 117.22 points or 1.55% to 7,655.51 and Germany’s DAX gained 174.84 points or 0.96% to 18,338.90.

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street gains overnight, as comments from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates this year. Japanese shares led gains as the yen stayed near 38-year lows. Hong Kong shares jumped by technology shares. Although, Chinese shares declined after a private survey showed Chinese services sector activity hit an 8-month low in June. Investors are awaiting the release of US June jobs report and upcoming elections in France and the UK.