Bulls hold grip over Dalal Street in early noon

Bulls held a tight grip over the Dalal Street in early afternoon session, with both Sensex and Nifty holding strong gains, aided by positive cues from other Asian markets along with buying at almost all sectors. Traders reacted to US after Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech that signaled the central bank is prepared to begin cutting interest rates at its next monetary policy meeting in September. Domestic sentiments remained upbeat as Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal has said that an MSME should not be looked upon as merely a small enterprise, its thinking should not be small or negative since MSMEs are a big force, they are successful, they are the strength of the nation, are giving employment to millions of countrymen and contribute to nation building. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after Singapore's industrial production increased unexpectedly in July after falling in the previous month. The preliminary data from the Economic Development Board revealed that industrial production rose 1.8 percent year-on-year in July, reversing a 4.3 percent fall in June. Meanwhile, output was expected to decline further by 1.1 percent.

Back home, jewellery sector stocks were in watch, amid a private report stating that gold demand in India during the upcoming festive season is likely to remain robust, as the substantial reduction in import duty has made prices appealing, providing comfort to retail consumers and encouraging purchases.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81738.07, up by 651.86 points or 0.80% after trading in a range of 81278.44 and 81820.23. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.44%, while Small cap index up by 0.37%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.27%, Oil & Gas up by 1.19%, TECK up by 1.07%, Consumer Durables up by 1.06% and Energy up by 1.04%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 2.41%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.07%, HCL Tech. up by 1.92%, Reliance Industries up by 1.41% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.40%. On the flip side, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 0.28%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.14%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.10% and Sun Pharma down by 0.08% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Crisil Ratings in its latest report has said that India's urea industry, which contributes to a significant portion of chemical fertiliser demand, has taken strong strides towards self-sufficiency. It said the import dependency in the sector is expected to reduce to 10-15 per cent in the near to medium term from its peak of 30 per cent seen in financial year 2020-21. 

The rating agency believed that this will be mainly driven by the commencement and stabilisation of new capacities. These new plants will see steady, regulated returns as utilisation improves. As for the legacy capacities, profits will remain stable this fiscal, in line with raw material prices and policies. Also, adequate subsidy allocation will keep the credit profiles of urea industry companies stable.

According to the report, urea demand growth had outpaced production between fiscals 2007 and 2012, because of which the share of imports rose to 20-25 per cent of consumption. The new plants are expected to operate at 100 per cent capacity utilisation this fiscal, as against 85-90 per cent in the previous fiscal, as operations stabilise.

The likely commissioning of one more plant by next fiscal will further boost domestic production. Higher capacity utilisation will improve operating efficiency and profitability of the new plants this fiscal. Going ahead, it said a possible uptick in nano urea adoption over the medium term can accelerate India's self-sufficiency.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25016.45, up by 193.30 points or 0.78% after trading in a range of 24874.70 and 25043.80. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 2.57%, NTPC up by 2.39%, Hindalco up by 2.28%, HCL Tech. up by 2.06% and Bajaj Finserv up by 2.02%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 0.68%, Grasim Industries down by 0.42%, Eicher Motors down by 0.37%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 0.37% and HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.23% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 186.6 points or 1.06% to 17,798.70, Jakarta Composite gained 50.73 points or 0.67% to 7,595.03, Shanghai Composite strengthened 0.1 points or 0% to 2,854.47, Straits Times rose 2.18 points or 0.06% to 3,390.17 and Taiwan Weighted added 82.07 points or 0.37% to 22,240.12, while KOSPI dropped 3.68 points or 0.14% to 2,698.01 and Nikkei 225 slipped 254.05 points or 0.67% to 38,110.22.