Benchmarks continue to trade in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green in morning deals, led by gains in IT, TECK and Oil & Gas stocks amid close monitoring of US election results. Traders took support with Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri stating that oil prices in India are expected to remain stable amid the rising geopolitical tensions as the country has several options to buy crude oil. Addressing concerns over potential supply chain disruptions, Puri emphasized that India has strategically positioned itself to manage such situations effectively, with access to a diverse range of crude oil suppliers. However, gains remained capped as some concern came after tax officers have detected about 18,000 fake companies registered under GST which have been involved in tax evasion of about Rs 25,000 crore. In the recently concluded all-India drive against fake companies, GST officers had identified 73,000 companies which they suspected of being set up only to avail of input tax credit (ITC) without any actual sale of goods and thereby defraud the exchequer.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as traders remained cautious ahead of the US Fed's interest rate decision tomorrow. The Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by another 25 basis points, but traders will be looking to the accompanying statement for clues about the likelihood of future rate cuts. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79750.44, up by 273.81 points or 0.34% after trading in a range of 79459.12 and 80115.34. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.03%, while Small cap index was up by 0.73%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 2.46%, TECK up by 1.99%, Oil & Gas up by 1.67%, Realty up by 1.33% and Industrials up by 1.05%, while Metal down by 0.38% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 2.62%, Infosys up by 2.59%, HCL Technologies up by 2.44%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.39% and Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.22%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 3.00%, Indusind Bank down by 1.66%, Tata Steel down by 1.44%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.74% and Power Grid Corporation down by 0.71% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, concerned over the growing instances of cyber frauds, the finance ministry has asked public sector banks (PSBs) to align their digital and cybersecurity frameworks with industry best practices and ensure customer protection and operational continuity as top priorities. During a review meeting chaired by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) Secretary M Nagaraju, discussions were held on enhancing the robustness of PSBs, building on recent financial achievements, and addressing strategic challenges with key focus on financial performance indicators, assets and liabilities management, cyber resilience, and digital payments infrastructure. The secretary exhorted the PSBs to accelerate the pace of lending to agriculture and MSMEs as well as deepen financial inclusion. 

The finance ministry said PSBs were asked to continue strengthening their financial and operational frameworks, particularly in light of the evolving market dynamics and cyber security needs. During the meeting, the importance of enhancing the current account savings account (CASA) deposits was underlined, reinforcing the need for PSBs to mobilise CASA deposits so as to further accelerate the pace of sustainable credit growth.

It said PSBs were advised to align their digital and cybersecurity frameworks with best practices, ensuring that customer protection and operational continuity remain top priorities. Specific emphasis was placed on reinforcing credit support to MSMEs and streamlining customer onboarding processes through digital innovations. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24299.45, up by 86.15 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 24204.05 and 24415.05. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were TCS up by 2.78%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.77%, HCL Technologies up by 2.68%, Infosys up by 2.67% and Tech Mahindra up by 2.64%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 2.85%, Indusind Bank down by 1.61%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.30%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.29% and Tata Steel down by 1.27% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 577.42 points or 2.75% to 20,429.55, KOSPI dropped 27.07 points or 1.05% to 2,549.81, Straits Times fell 1.16 points or 0.03% to 3,580.45 and Jakarta Composite plunged 30.39 points or 0.41% to 7,461.54.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 711.81 points or 1.85% to 39,186.71, Taiwan Weighted added 188.96 points or 0.82% to 23,295.75 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 5.95 points or 0.18% to 3,392.94.