Domestic indices trim most of losses in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices trimmed most of their losses in late morning deals on account of buying in Maruti Suzuki, Adani Ports, Power Grid and Larsen & Toubro companies’ stocks. Falling crude oil prices supported domestic sentiments. Some support came in as President Droupadi Murmu said India is the fastest growing major economy and is likely to become the third largest economy soon. However, markets continued to trade below neutral lines on weak cues from other Asian markets. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Industrials, Capital Goods, Telecom, Basic Materials and FMCG, while selling was witnessed in Consumer Durables, Bankex and Healthcare. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as traders were cautious and reluctant to take positions ahead of the next week's U.S. presidential election. In the stock specific development, GRSE rose on securing order worth Rs 491 crore from NPOL. However, Voltas tanked amid profit booking after healthy Q2 results. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80294.91, down by 74.12 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 79981.96 and 80324.15. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.56%, while Small cap index up by 1.60%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Industrials up by 1.48%, Capital Goods up by 1.21%, Telecom up by 1.20%, Basic Materials up by 1.05% and FMCG up by 1.02%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.90%, Bankex down by 0.60% and Healthcare down by 0.17% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports up by 2.69%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.35%, Indusind Bank up by 1.93%, Power Grid up by 1.33% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.10%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.65%, Sun Pharma down by 1.00%, Infosys down by 0.83%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.80% and Axis Bank down by 0.78% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Credit rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that the credit profile of the domestic non-ferrous metal players is likely to remain healthy in FY2025 driven by resilient base metal prices. According to ICRA's latest research, international base metal prices rose by around 12-14% in 7M FY2025 compared to the same period last year. While potential downside risks in the second half of FY2025 cannot be ruled out, low inventories and ongoing supply constraints are expected to limit any sharp price corrections during this period. Additionally, the stimulus announced by the Chinese government along with interest rate cuts in the US are supporting metal prices. 

The report said in the domestic market, while the coal costs remain stable, the rising alumina costs, due to supply constraints, pose a near-term concern for the non-integrated aluminium players. Nonetheless, ICRA projects the buoyant metal prices to support the operating margins for domestic non-ferrous metal companies in FY2025. As for the domestic demand-supply scenario, the domestic demand for base metals registered a healthy expansion of 10-13% during FY2023 and FY2024, led by increased consumption from end-user sectors, particularly infrastructure, electrical, and renewable energy. Demand for non-ferrous metals is likely to show a growth of 7-10 per cent in FY25, surpassing the global demand growth forecast of 2% by a wide margin.

According to the report, the capacity utilisation for aluminium and zinc metal players also remained healthy at over 90% in the current fiscal, resulting in large export volumes. Off-take risks in the international market remain low, given the cost competitiveness of the domestic manufacturers. However, lower copper production has created a large deficit in the domestic copper market, resulting in large import dependence.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24466.05, down by 0.80 points after trading in a range of 24337.60 and 24466.70. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 4.43%, Bharat Electronics up by 2.93%, Adani Ports up by 2.82%, Tata Consumer up by 2.80% and Maruti Suzuki up by 2.31%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 3.94%, SBI Life down by 1.88%, Shriram Finance down by 1.78%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.62% and ICICI Bank down by 1.56% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 344.93 points or 1.69% to 20,356.21, Jakarta Composite plunged 66.13 points or 0.88% to 7,540.47, Shanghai Composite weakened 34.55 points or 1.06% to 3,251.86, Straits Times fell 31.75 points or 0.89% to 3,558.61, KOSPI dropped 27.69 points or 1.07% to 2,590.11 and Taiwan Weighted lost 118.15 points or 0.52% to 22,808.44. However, Nikkei 225 surged 361.34 points or 0.92% to 39,265.02.