Markets trade higher with marginal gains in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made positive start on Wednesday tracking gains in Asian counterparts and a continued fall in oil prices, which slid about 1 percent to settle at a seven-month low on Tuesday on worries that demand from China could be weakening. Markets are trading higher with marginal gains in early deals with Asian Paints and NTPC leading the gainers on the indices. Some support came as revenue secretary Sanjay Malhotra ruled out any review of the long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax regime in the medium term. Some optimism came as the government said the rupee remains one of the best performing currencies in 2024, with a much lower depreciation against the dollar than the currencies of Japan and South Korea. However, upside remained capped amid foreign fund outflows. On July 30, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 5,598.64 crore. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly higher, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain optimistic about the outlook for interest rates as they cautiously await the US Fed's monetary policy announcement later in the day. Though the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will be looking to the accompanying statement for additional clues about a possible rate cut in September.

Back home, sugar industry stocks are in focus as industry body Isma said India's gross sugar production is estimated to decline 2 per cent to 33.3 mn tonnes in 2024-25 marketing year starting October. In stock specific development, Torrent Power rose on Q1 strong numbers. The company reported a surge of 87.2 per cent Y-o-Y in net profit in the June quarter to Rs 996.3 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81534.98, up by 79.58 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 81434.32 and 81682.53. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.56%, while Small cap index was up by 0.10%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.94%, Oil & Gas up by 0.87%, Power up by 0.77%, Metal up by 0.65% and Basic Materials up by 0.61%, while Realty down by 0.50%, Capital Goods down by 0.16%, Industrials down by 0.11% and Bankex down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 2.44%, NTPC up by 2.14%, JSW Steel up by 1.14%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.88% and ITC up by 0.88%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.00%, Indusind Bank down by 0.82%, Axis Bank down by 0.67%, Tata Motors down by 0.66% and Reliance Industries down by 0.61% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the negotiations to review the free trade agreements (FTAs) implemented with Japan, Korea, and Asean are moving slow but India is pursuing those talks. He said these agreements were signed and implemented during the UPA regime.

He added these pacts are hurting the domestic industry and almost all firms stated that they are 'unfair' agreements. He also said ‘I am helpless as those agreements (came into effect) before we came to power. I am helpless to change it until we close the negotiations’.

He further said ‘We are under re-negotiations but obviously when they (Japan, Korea, Asean) realise that the Congress's agreement was better for them (Japan, Korea, Asean), they are happier to keep that rather than change the agreements... they are going very slow, (but) we are also pursuing’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24893.95, up by 36.65 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 24856.50 and 24929.10. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 2.53%, NTPC up by 2.26%, Hindalco up by 1.12%, ONGC up by 1.08% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.06%. On the flip side, Tata Consumer Products down by 1.42%, Power Grid down by 0.94%, Indusind Bank down by 0.83%, Axis Bank down by 0.74% and Divi's Lab down by 0.70% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 323.67 points or 1.9% to 17,326.58, Shanghai Composite strengthened 51.5 points or 1.76% to 2,930.80, Taiwan Weighted added 31.56 points or 0.14% to 22,255.13, KOSPI increased 15.65 points or 0.57% to 2,753.84, Jakarta Composite gained 13.42 points or 0.19% to 7,255.28 and Straits Times rose 7.62 points or 0.22% to 3,449.39, while Nikkei 225 slipped 5.35 points or 0.01% to 38,520.60.