Markets trade higher with decent gains in early deals amid foreign fund inflows

Indian equity benchmarks made positive start on Tuesday tracking gains in global peers. Markets are trading higher with decent gains in early deals amid foreign fund inflows. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the cash segment for the fourth day in a row yesterday. They net purchased stocks worth Rs 61 crore on July 08. Some support came as the Reserve Bank of India’s KLEMS database showed that the total number of employed people as a ratio of the total population has increased to 44.2 per cent in FY24 from 34.7 per cent in FY18, with the workforce growing by 168 million during the period at 643.3 million. Total employment was 596.7 million in FY23, thereby adding 46.6 million in FY24. Traders took note of report that India's informal sector grew post-pandemic, with Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh logging big output gains in fiscal 2022-23. The number of informal firms in India increased 9 percent to 65 million in 2022-23 from 59.7 million in 2022-21, according to the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. 

On the global front, most of the Asian markets are trading higher with limited gains as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of key US inflation data later in the week, which is expected to show a slowdown in the pace of annual price growth, could impact the outlook for interest rates. Traders also awaited the US Fed Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony later in the week for directional cues. Back home, shares of auto companies - Maruti Suzuki in particular are in focus after the UP government in its bid towards promoting green energy waived registration fee in the state. Also, CareEdge Ratings report noted that the two-wheeler industry is expected to sustain a steady volume growth this fiscal driven by improved domestic sales and good traction in executive and premium segment motorcycles. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80203.24, up by 242.86 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 79998.56 and 80205.95. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.57%, while Small cap index was up by 0.68%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.49%, Consumer Durables up by 1.28%, Power up by 1.19%, Auto up by 1.14% and Consumer discretionary up by 0.84%, while there was no loser on the BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 4.43%, Titan Company up by 1.67%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.43%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.17% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.06%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 0.44%, Infosys down by 0.43%, Reliance Industries down by 0.41%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.33% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.32% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data has showed that the number of persons employed in 27 sectors, including agriculture, trade and financial services, increased by 3.31 per cent year-on-year to 59.66 crore in 2022-23. During 2021-22, the employment in these 27 sectors stood at 57.75 crore. The RBI has reported an update on 'Measuring Productivity at the Industry Level-The India KLEMS [Capital (K), Labour (L), Energy (E), Material (M) and Services (S)] Database'. The database covers 27 industries comprising the entire Indian economy.

It comprises the Data Manual 2024 and time-series data on productivity for 27 industries covering the period 1980-81 to 2022-23. The 'agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing' had employed 25.3 crore individuals, up from 24.82 crore in 2021-22. Construction, trade, and transport and storage were among the leading employment provider segments.

The RBI said the document describes the procedures, methodologies and approaches used in the construction of India KLEMS database version 2024. The production and publication of India KLEMS database are meant to support empirical research in the area of economic growth and its sources. It added most importantly, the database is meant to support the conduct of policies aimed at supporting the acceleration of productivity growth in the Indian economy.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24374.15, up by 53.60 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 24331.90 and 24384.00. There were 30 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 4.42%, Titan Company up by 1.39%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.36%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.11% and Cipla up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.78%, JSW Steel down by 0.57%, Infosys down by 0.55%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.42% and Reliance Industries down by 0.37% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 883.6 points or 2.17% to 41,664.30, Jakarta Composite gained 38.22 points or 0.53% to 7,289.20, Straits Times rose 13.49 points or 0.4% to 3,417.96, Taiwan Weighted added 6.45 points or 0.03% to 23,884.60 and KOSPI was up by 4.95 points or 0.17% to 2,862.71. On the other hand, Hang Seng fell 80.91 points or 0.46% to 17,443.15 and Shanghai Composite was down by 0.18 points or 0.01% to 2,922.27.