Benchmarks remain in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained in green in morning deals, driven by gains in IT, TECK and auto stocks. Traders took support as data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed that formal job creation picked up for the first four months of the FY25. New subscriptions to all three social security schemes were higher for the first four months, as there was a further pickup in job creation. Traders also took a note of the World Economic Forum in its latest Chief Economists Outlook stated that a majority of chief economists have shown a cautious optimism about the global economy with India's robust performance making South Asia the best performer worldwide. Sector-wise, agriculture stocks remained in limelight as the agriculture ministry said India's foodgrain production reached a record 332.22 million tonne in the 2023-24 crop year ended June, driven by bumper wheat and rice output. The ministry said the final estimate for 2023-24 shows an increase of 2.61 million tonne from the previous year's 329.6 million tonne. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green fuelled by persistent optimism over China's aggressive stimulus package, although there were signs some of that enthusiasm was starting to ebb.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 85399.90, up by 230.03 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 85106.74 and 85433.31. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.53%, while Small cap index was down by 0.36%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.72%, TECK up by 0.68%, Auto up by 0.35%, FMCG up by 0.16% and Bankex up by 0.13%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.95%, Power down by 0.72%, Oil & Gas down by 0.70%, Utilities down by 0.66% and Realty down by 0.56% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 3.05%, Tata Motors up by 1.81%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.42%, HCL Technologies up by 1.21% and Nestle up by 0.88%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.57%, NTPC down by 1.03%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.84%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.58% and HDFC Bank down by 0.50% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the National Health Account (NHA) estimates for India 2020-21 and 2021-22 has released on September, 25,2024, which showed that the government health expenditure’s share in the country’s total GDP has increased from 1.13 per cent in 2014-15 (FY15) to 1.84 per cent in 2021-22 (FY22). The share of government health expenditure in total health expenditure has increased from 29.0 per cent in 2014-15 to 48.0 per cent in 2021-22. The per capita government spending on healthcare has tripled.

Dr V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog said the decline in Out-of-Pocket expenditure out of total health expenditure from 64.2 per cent in 2013-14 to 39.4 per cent in 2021-22 reflects a very positive indicator. Dr Paul highlighted that ‘more than Rs 1 lakh crore savings have accrued from the Ayushman Bharat PMJAY and this has had a positive impact on the recent NHA estimates. He also stated that other schemes like the Free Dialysis scheme, launched in 2015-16 has benefited 25 lakh people.’

Besides, Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra said that a substantial increase has been noticed in the health expenditure of the government while the out-of-pocket expenditure has come down which is a good sign. He highlighted that the total health expenditure has also made a significant increase which reflects the emphasis of the government towards health. The continuous decline in the out-of-pocket-expenditure in the overall health spending vindicates the substantial efforts made by the Government in the progress towards ensuring financial protection and Universal Health Coverage for its citizens.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 26074.35, up by 70.20 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 25998.40 and 26077.30. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 2.82%, Tata Motors up by 1.66%, SBI Life Insurance up by 1.52%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.45% and HCL Technologies up by 1.38%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.72%, ONGC down by 1.52%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.51%, NTPC down by 0.96% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.91% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 443.35 points or 2.27% to 19,572.45, Shanghai Composite strengthened 18.43 points or 0.63% to 2,914.74, Straits Times rose 15.72 points or 0.44% to 3,598.99, KOSPI increased 56.04 points or 2.16% to 2,652.36, Nikkei 225 surged 866.15 points or 2.29% to 38,736.41 and Taiwan Weighted added 108.08 points or 0.47% to 22,869.68.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite plunged 7.1 points or 0.09% to 7,733.80.