Benchmarks remain in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained in green in morning deals, led by gains in IT, TECK and PSU stocks. Traders took support with Government e Marketplace (GeM) CEO Prashant Kumar Singh’s statement that the government's GeM portal has clocked a gross merchandise value of Rs 1,24,761 lakh crore at the end of first quarter (Q1FY25), representing a quarter-on-quarter growth of 136 per cent over last year's Rs 52,670 crore. He said that going by this pace, it will become the world's largest platform. South Korea's KONEPS is the largest such platform in the world. However, gains were limited as some concern came with latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed that deposit growth of commercial banks further slowed down to 10.64 per cent for the fortnight ending June 28. Credit growth also declined during the period. Markets eyed the earnings season and the eagerly anticipated 2024 Union Budget on July 23. Traders also remained on sidelines ahead of the India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data to be out on July 12. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red even as softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data bolstered hopes for two Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. Back home, on the sectoral front, auto component industry stocks remained in watch as to a recent report by ICRA stated that the Indian auto component industry is projected to see a moderation in revenue growth to 5-7 per cent for the fiscal year 2025, following a robust 14 per cent growth in FY2024, on account of slower domestic original equipment manufacturer (OEM) segment growth and subdued export demand. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80013.17, up by 115.83 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 79843.39 and 80294.69. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.28%, while Small cap index was up by 0.46%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.78%, TECK up by 1.31%, PSU up by 0.50%, Oil & Gas up by 0.48% and Energy up by 0.43%, while Realty down by 0.82%, Consumer Durables down by 0.23%, Power down by 0.16%, Healthcare down by 0.12% and Auto down by 0.11% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 2.89%, Axis Bank up by 2.04%, Infosys up by 1.69%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.33% and HCL Technologies up by 0.75%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.45%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.08%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.85%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.72% and Sun Pharma down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit ratings agency ICRA has said that the Red Sea crisis is likely to impact the margins of the auto component industry over the next few quarters amid higher container rates and shipping time. It projected a moderate growth for the industry this fiscal. It stated close to two-thirds of the auto component exports are made to North America and Europe, and one-third of the imports is made from these regions.

It stated the disruption along the Red Sea route has resulted in a surge in container rates by 2-3 times in YTD (year-to-date) this calendar year compared to CY2023, while shipping time has also increased by around two weeks. Further, the industry's liquidity position, according to ICRA, remains comfortable, especially across tier-I players supported by stable cash flows and earnings. ICRA said it expects the growth in revenues of the Indian auto component industry to ease to 5-7 per cent this fiscal, from the highs of around 14 per cent in FY 2023-24. 

Details, Vinutaa S, Vice President and Sector Head for corporate ratings at ICRA, said demand from domestic original equipment manufacturers (OEM) constitutes over 50 per cent of sales for the Indian auto component industry and the pace of growth in the segment is expected to moderate in FY2025.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24379.85, up by 63.90 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 24331.15 and 24440.75. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Shriram Finance up by 3.28%, TCS up by 2.89%, Wipro up by 2.88%, LTIMindtree up by 2.22% and Axis Bank up by 2.04%. On the flip side, Divi's Lab down by 1.41%, Asian Paints down by 1.38%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.04%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.80% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.73% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; KOSPI dropped 44.31 points or 1.53% to 2,847.04, Nikkei 225 slipped 965 points or 2.29% to 41,259.02, Taiwan Weighted lost 553.56 points or 2.27% to 23,836.47 and Shanghai Composite weakened 6.14 points or 0.21% to 2,964.25.

On the flip side, Hang Seng advanced 353.2 points or 1.94% to 18,185.53, Jakarta Composite gained 34.94 points or 0.48% to 7,335.35 and Straits Times rose 23.03 points or 0.66% to 3,498.09.