Benchmarks remain in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained in green in morning deals, helped by strong foreign fund inflows and rally in Asian markets. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 14,064.05 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Traders took support as a labour ministry statement stated that retail inflation for farm workers and rural labourers eased to 5.96 per cent and 6.08 per cent, respectively, in August against the comparative figures of 6.17 per cent and 6.20 per cent recorded in July this year. Some support also came with private report stating that India continues to be a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy global outlook and the country could clock a 7 per cent growth in the current fiscal despite the headwinds. However, gains remain capped as the latest Bulletin of the Reserve Bank showed that food price volatility remains a contingent risk even as the overall retail inflation has remained below the target of 4 per cent for the second consecutive month in August. The Bulletin also said that global economic activity is slowing down while the pace of disinflation remains sluggish, provoking caution among monetary policy authorities. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green on expectations that China may deliver more stimulus to revive the world’s second-largest economy after the US kicked off its easing cycle. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 84750.80, up by 206.49 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 84642.87 and 84881.73. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.40%, while Small cap index was up by 0.44%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.85%, Telecom up by 1.69%, Energy up by 1.47%, PSU up by 1.27% and Consumer Durables up by 0.85%, while IT down by 0.43% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 1.57%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.54%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.45%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.41% and NTPC up by 1.39%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.47%, HCL Technologies down by 0.81%, Infosys down by 0.67%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.61% and Indusind Bank down by 0.43% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) article in the September Bulletin has said that food price volatility remains a contingent risk even as the overall retail inflation has remained below the target of 4 per cent for the second consecutive month in August. It further said that household consumption is poised to grow faster in the second quarter as headline inflation eases, with a revival of rural demand already taking hold.

It stated ‘Consumer price index (CPI) inflation came in below the Reserve Bank's target for the second consecutive month in August, although in light of the recent experience, food price volatility remains a contingent risk.’ Besides, it said global economic activity is slowing down, while the pace of disinflation remains sluggish, provoking caution among monetary policy authorities. In India, domestic drivers -- private consumption and gross fixed investment -- were robust and net exports remained sequentially positive in their support to gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter of this fiscal year.

Referring to bank deposits, it also noted that consistent with rising returns on term deposits, there has been higher accruals (16.6 per cent y-o-y growth in June 2024). The share of savings deposits in total deposits has come down to 29.8 per cent in June 2024 from 31.8 per cent a year ago. The share of term deposits offering interest rates over 7 per cent increased to 66.9 per cent in June 2024, from 33.5 per cent in March 2023 and 4.5 per cent in March 2022. Moreover, it said recent research on the energy outlook indicates that energy transition has accelerated in recent years, with the pace of clean technology deployment and capital investment surging to record levels. The Reserve Bank said views expressed in the Bulletin article are of the authors and do not represent the views of the central bank.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25891.85, up by 100.90 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 25849.50 and 25925.80. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 2.22%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.91%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.79%, BPCL up by 1.77% and SBI up by 1.54%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.34%, Eicher Motors down by 1.21%, HCL Technologies down by 0.92%, Wipro down by 0.84% and Infosys down by 0.59% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 100.81 points or 0.55% to 18,359.38, Shanghai Composite strengthened 19.58 points or 0.71% to 2,756.39, Straits Times rose 18.61 points or 0.51% to 3,643.37, KOSPI increased 3.89 points or 0.15% to 2,597.26 and Taiwan Weighted added 93.91 points or 0.42% to 22,253.33.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite plunged 21.66 points or 0.28% to 7,721.34.