Bourses trade near day’s high levels in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets continued to trade near day’s high levels in late afternoon session amid value buying. Investors were monitoring Q1 earnings. Traders overlooked private report that centre’s debt to GDP ratio rose to 58.2% in 2023-24, as against the budget estimate of 57.2% and the revised estimate of 58.1%. In 2022-23, the ratio stood at 57.9%. Sector wise, coal sector remained in focus as India’s coal production increased by 11.65% to 997.26 million tonnes (MT) in 2023-24 as compared to 893.19 MT in 2022-23. The actual demand for coal increased to 1233.86 MT in 2023-24 from 1115.04 MT in 2022-23. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as investors awaited cues from a slew of central bank meetings around the world and mega-cap U.S. tech earnings. European markets were trading mostly in green as a two-day policy meeting of the Federal Reserve gets underway later today, with investors hoping for dovish guidance.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81730.54, up by 374.70 points or 0.46% after trading in a range of 81230.44 and 81798.19. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.57%, while Small cap index was up by 1.02%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 2.34%, Power up by 1.93%, Oil & Gas up by 1.16%, PSU up by 1.06% and Energy was up by 0.89%, while FMCG down by 0.50%, TECK down by 0.13%, IT down by 0.02% and Healthcare was down by 0.02% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 3.66%, NTPC up by 3.33%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.07%, Power Grid up by 2.94% and Asian Paints up by 1.75%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.01%, Sun Pharma down by 0.87%, ITC down by 0.65%, Nestle down by 0.62% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.50% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest report on Currency and Finance for the year 2023-24 has showed that India is at the forefront of the digital revolution, leveraging on its digital public infrastructure, a vibrant financial technology (FinTech) ecosystem and a conducive policy environment to emerge as the fastest-growing digital economy in the world.

As per the report, digital technologies are unlocking opportunities in financial inclusion, fiscal transfers and cross-border trade and remittances. Taking stock of India’s digital journey so far, the report explored emerging opportunities and challenges, supported by surveys of key stakeholders and data analytics. The Report found empirical support for a positive role of the regulatory framework in increasing the confidence of consumers in digital financial products, boosting operating and technical efficiencies of financial institutions and engendering more liquid and integrated financial markets.

However, the report noted that digital technologies also present challenges related to cybersecurity, data privacy, vendor and third-party risks, customer protection, up-skilling and re-skilling of human resources, complex financial products and business models. It said that balancing financial stability, customer protection, and competition while supporting an environment congenial for innovations is the key policy challenge.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24951.50, up by 115.40 points or 0.46% after trading in a range of 24798.65 and 24968.85. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 4.16%, Tata Motors up by 3.68%, NTPC up by 3.35%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.08% and Power Grid up by 3.01%. On the flip side, LTIMindtree down by 1.38%, Cipla down by 1.26%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.96%, Grasim Industries down by 0.94% and Eicher Motors down by 0.87% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 235.43 points or 1.38% to 17,002.91, Jakarta Composite plunged 47.28 points or 0.65% to 7,241.62, KOSPI dropped 27.34 points or 1% to 2,738.19, Shanghai Composite weakened 12.55 points or 0.44% to 2,879.30 and Straits Times was down by 1.05 points or 0.03% to 3,443.13. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 57.32 points or 0.15% to 38,525.95 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 59.08 points or 0.27% to 22,223.57. 

European markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC rose 22.94 points or 0.31% to 7,466.78 and Germany’s DAX was up by 67.76 points or 0.37% to 18,388.43. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 41.45 points or 0.5% to 8,250.90.