Local equities continue to trade with traction

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade with traction in morning session on account of buying in blue chip stocks from across various sectors amid a smart rebound in Asian peers. Sentiments remained up-beat as think tank GTRI stated that reforms in certain customs and banking rules, access to credit, and incentives at par with China will be key for India to boost its exports through e-commerce medium to $350 billion by 2030. Some support also came as private report stated that India's economy is expected to grow at 7-7.2 per cent in the current fiscal year driven by robust economic fundamentals and continuity in domestic policy reforms. On the sectoral front, edible oil industry stocks remained in watch with a private report that the country is aiming to increase domestic palm oil production from the current level of 0.4 million tonne (MT) to 2.5 MT by 2032 under the national oil palm mission through adding at least 0.1 million hectare (MH) of new plantation annually in the five to six years. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green after a global selloff a day earlier, led by a surging Nikkei and rising U.S. futures as investors looked for bargains despite lingering concerns of a U.S. slowdown and geopolitical risk. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79469.49, up by 710.09 points or 0.90% after trading in a range of 78981.97 and 79852.08. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.45%, while Small cap index was up by 1.84%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.46%, IT up by 2.01%, Basic Materials up by 1.87%, Capital Goods up by 1.73% and consumer discretionary up by 1.71%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 2.70%, JSW Steel up by 2.60%, Tata Motors up by 2.31%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 2.30% and HCL Technologies up by 2.17%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 0.45%, ICICI Bank down by 0.10% and Axis Bank down by 0.01% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Indian Ports Association (IPA) has said that Cargo traffic at 12 major ports in the country grew 5.92 per cent to 70.08 million tonnes (MT) in July from 66.17 MT handled in the year-ago period. It said that 10 of these major ports logged positive growth in cargo traffic handling, while the remaining two saw a negative growth. The 12 major ports are Deendayal (Kandla), Mumbai, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Ennore (Kamarajar), Tuticorin (VO Chidambaranar), Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia) and Jawaharlal Nehru Port.

In July, IPA said Cochin Port registered the maximum cargo growth at 24.77 per cent, followed by Visakhapatnam Port (10.80 per cent) and JN Port (9.07 per cent). Chennai Port handled 8.89 per cent more traffic compared to July 2023, while cargo traffic at Deendayal Port and V O Chidambaranar Port grew 7.13 per cent and 6.74 per cent, respectively. Similarly, Paradip Port logged 3.60 per cent growth in cargo handling, SMP, Kolkata Port 2.26 per cent and Kamarajar Port 0.69 per cent in July this year.

It stated the growth in cargo traffic at New Mangalore Port was recorded at 0.18 per cent during the month under review. Besides, it said the negative growth was witnessed at Mumbai Port with 1.23 per cent and Mormugao Port with 1 per cent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24275.85, up by 220.25 points or 0.92% after trading in a range of 24189.50 and 24382.60. There were 43 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 2.94%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.73%, JSW Steel up by 2.66%, Wipro up by 2.55% and Divi's Lab up by 2.48%. On the flip side, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.11%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.80%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.45%, Shriram Finance down by 0.32% and ICICI Bank down by 0.12% were the top losers. 

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 77.29 points or 0.46% to 16,775.65, Jakarta Composite gained 80.83 points or 1.14% to 7,140.48, Shanghai Composite strengthened 1.17 points or 0.04% to 2,861.87, KOSPI increased 79.63 points or 3.26% to 2,521.18, Nikkei 225 surged 2384.09 points or 7.58% to 33,842.51 and Taiwan Weighted added 743.02 points or 3.75% to 20,573.90.

On the flip side, Straits Times fell 22.56 points or 0.7% to 3,221.11.