Markets trade in green in early deals on Tuesday

Indian equity markets have made a cautious start but are trading in green in morning deals on Tuesday on firm cues from the global markets. Meanwhile, broader indices are also trading in green. Foreign fund inflows aided domestic sentiments. As per NSE data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) were net buyers of Indian equities worth Rs 404.42 crore on Monday. Some support came in as ICRA said that business opportunities worth Rs 2 lakh crore are expected to open up for engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) players over the next decade for the completion of four priority interlinking river (ILR) projects. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions, Metal, Basic Materials, Utilities, Power and Healthcare, while selling was witnessed in IT, Realty, TECK, FMCG and Capital Goods. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Tuesday as China announced a slew of policy easing measures in a rare briefing from central bank governor Pan Gongsheng. The PBOC will cut the reserve requirement ratio for banks by 50 basis points, although it did not provide a specific timeline. It also announced it would cut the seven-day reverse repurchase rate from 1.7% to 1.5%. The US markets ended higher on Monday as traders looked to build on last week’s gains following the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 84961.83, up by 33.22 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 84716.07 and 84988.69. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.22%, while Small cap index up by 0.26%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.81%, Basic Materials up by 0.88%, Utilities up by 0.86%, Power up by 0.69% and Healthcare up by 0.52%, while IT down by 0.58%, Realty down by 0.55%, TECK down by 0.33%, FMCG down by 0.21% and Capital Goods down by 0.15% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 2.31%, JSW Steel up by 1.89%, Nestle up by 1.32%, Power Grid up by 1.28% and HDFC Bank up by 0.76%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.40%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.20%, Infosys down by 1.08%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.59% and Indusind Bank down by 0.59% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, ICRA in its latest report has said that business opportunities worth Rs 2 lakh crore are expected to emerge for engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) entities over the next decade, with the completion of four priority interlinking river (ILR) projects. It stated approximately a third of this value (around Rs 80,000 crore) is projected to be awarded over the next four years to companies involved in large-scale irrigation projects.

The National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has identified 30 ILR projects, comprising 16 peninsular river links and 14 Himalayan river links, to be jointly funded by the central and state governments. The central government’s focus on the water sector has increased significantly in recent years. ICRA highlighted this focus, noting a substantial rise in the budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJ), surpassing Rs 78,000 crore in 2024-25 (revised budget estimates), largely driven by significant funding for the Jal Jeevan Mission.

Chintan Lakhani, Vice President and Sector Head - Corporate Ratings at ICRA, stated ‘The four priority links are just the beginning of the ILR project’s decade-long implementation plan. While the current share of these projects in the ministry’s budget is minimal, at 5 per cent (i.e., Rs 3,908 crore), it is expected to increase as more projects are approved and construction gathers momentum.’

The NWDA has prioritised four projects–Ken-Betwa, Kosi-Mechi, Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal, and Godavari-Cauvery–for early implementation. ICRA estimates that these priority links will be completed at a cost of Rs 2.6 lakh crore by 2034-35. Besides, it said the Godavari-Cauvery link is the largest of the four (accounting for 45 per cent of the total project cost), while the Kosi-Mechi link is the smallest (at 4 per cent). The Ken-Betwa project, which represents 21 per cent of the cost of the priority links, is already under implementation.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25955.60, up by 16.55 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 25886.85 and 25959.05. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 2.28%, JSW Steel up by 1.82%, Hindalco up by 1.55%, Nestle up by 1.38% and Power Grid up by 1.23%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.37%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.25%, Shriram Finance down by 1.18%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.11% and SBI Life Insuran down by 1.10% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 600.27 points or 3.29% to 18,847.38, Jakarta Composite gained 8.51 points or 0.11% to 7,784.24, Shanghai Composite strengthened 65.38 points or 2.32% to 2,814.30, KOSPI increased 2.96 points or 0.11% to 2,604.97, Nikkei 225 surged 306.91 points or 0.81% to 38,030.82 and Taiwan Weighted added 10.29 points or 0.05% to 22,295.82. However, Straits Times fell 3.34 points or 0.09% to 3,635.20.