Domestic indices continue to trade in green in late morning deals

Domestic equity markets continued to trade in green in late morning deals on account of buying in HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, NTPC and Nestle companies’ stocks. This rise followed a global rally spurred by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's suggestion of a potential interest rate cut in September. Sentiments got boost as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal expressed hope that steps such as focus on self-sufficiency, technology, stronger currency and fundamentals would help India become a $55-trillion economy by 2047. Traders took a note of report that growth in new orders and output eased slightly at Indian factories during July, even as firms raised selling prices at the highest pace in almost 11 years amid a significant spike in input costs that accelerated at a two-year high rate, as per the HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). The seasonally adjusted PMI inched down from 58.3 in June to 58.1 in July. A reading of over 50 on the index signals a rise in activity levels.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green following positive cues from the US markets overnight. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Utilities, Energy, Power, Metal and Oil & Gas, while selling was witnessed in Realty, Auto, Consumer Disc, Capital Goods and Industrials. In the stock specific developments, Maruti Suzuki surged on strong Q1 results. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81878.05, up by 136.71 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 81838.49 and 82129.49. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.08%, while Small cap index up by 0.02%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.42%, Energy up by 0.82%, Power up by 0.80%, Metal up by 0.70% and Oil & Gas up by 0.59%, while Realty down by 1.06%, Auto down by 0.83%, Consumer Disc down by 0.43%, Capital Goods down by 0.35% and Industrials down by 0.27% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 3.41%, NTPC up by 1.45%, Nestle up by 1.10%, HDFC Bank up by 1.02% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.82%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.60%, Sun Pharma down by 1.78%, Tata Steel down by 1.12%, Tata Motors down by 1.01% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.71% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry in its latest data has showed that the output of eight core industries slowed down to 4 percent in June 2024 from 8.4 percent in the same period last year, due to a decline in the output of crude oil, and refinery products. The core sectors' production grew by 6.4 percent in May 2024. The Eight Core Industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity - comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Coal production having 10.33 per cent weight increased by 14.8 per cent in June, 2024 over June, 2023 and its cumulative index increased by 10.8 per cent during April to June, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Electricity generation having 19.85 per cent weight increased by 7.7 per cent in June, 2024 over June, 2023 and its cumulative index increased by 10.5 per cent during April to June, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year.

Natural Gas production having 6.88 per cent weight increased by 3.3 per cent in June, 2024 over June, 2023 and its cumulative index increased by 6.4 per cent during April to June, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Steel production having 17.92 per cent weight increased by 2.7 per cent in June, 2024 over June, 2023 and its cumulative index increased by 6.1 per cent during April to June, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. 

Cement production having 5.37 per cent weight increased by 1.9 per cent in June, 2024 over June, 2023 and its cumulative index increased by 0.3 per cent during April to June, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Fertilizer production having 2.63 per cent weight increased by 2.4 per cent in June, 2024 over June, 2023 and its cumulative index remained constant during April to June, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. 

Petroleum Refinery production having 28.04 per cent weight declined by 1.5 per cent in June, 2024 over June, 2023, while its cumulative index increased by 0.9 per cent during April to June, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Crude Oil production having 8.98 per cent weight declined by 2.6 per cent in June, 2024 over June, 2023, while its cumulative index declined by 0.7 per cent during April-June, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25023.10, up by 71.95 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 25003.60 and 25078.30. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 3.52%, Coal India up by 3.03%, ONGC up by 2.50%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.65% and Shriram Finance up by 1.64%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.55%, Sun Pharma down by 1.93%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.46%, Tata Steel down by 1.09% and Tata Motors down by 1.02% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 27.44 points or 0.16% to 17,372.04, Jakarta Composite gained 54.22 points or 0.74% to 7,309.98, Shanghai Composite strengthened 1.84 points or 0.06% to 2,940.59, KOSPI increased 13.73 points or 0.5% to 2,784.42 and Taiwan Weighted added 422.73 points or 1.87% to 22,622.08. However, Straits Times fell 27.85 points or 0.81% to 3,428.09 and Nikkei 225 slipped 1004.16 points or 2.57% to 38,097.66.