Markets continue to trade flat in late morning deals

Indian equity markets continued to trade flat in late morning deals as India factory growth softened in November on high inflationary pressures. The HSBC final India manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 56.5 last month from 57.5 in October. Further, sentiments were also muted as Crisil expects GDP growth of India to slow to 6.8% this financial year 2024-25. It said the growth is weighed down by high interest rates and low fiscal impulse. Besides, depreciation in Indian rupee against dollar too weighed down sentiments. Rupee weakened by 7 paise to 84.67 against the dollar at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange market on account of increased demand for the American currency from importers and banks. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Consumer Durables, Realty, Basic Materials, Healthcare and Consumer Disc, while selling was witnessed in Bankex, Oil & Gas, PSU, Capital Goods and Utilities. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green after China released its official purchasing managers’ index reading for November. Manufacturing PMI came in at 50.3 - its highest level since April - beating the 50.2 expected by street. Manufacturing PMI came in at 50.1 in October. Back home, in the stock specific development, HG Infra Engineering rose after the company has been declared as a qualified bidder by the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam for a battery storage project.  

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79796.26, down by 6.53 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 79308.95 and 79881.51. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.39%, while Small cap index up by 0.63%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.64%, Realty up by 1.46%, Basic Materials up by 0.94%, Healthcare up by 0.89% and Consumer Disc up by 0.79%, while Bankex down by 0.43%, Oil & Gas down by 0.41%, PSU down by 0.39%, Capital Goods down by 0.24% and Utilities down by 0.16% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 2.80%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.00%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.31%, Sun Pharma up by 1.20% and JSW Steel up by 1.03%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.33%, NTPC down by 1.22%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.08%, HDFC Bank down by 0.94% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.87% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry in its latest data has showed that the output of eight core industries expanded by 3.1 per cent in October 2024, sharply down from a 12.7 per cent growth registered in the same month last year. On a monthly basis, the production growth of these sectors was higher than the 2.4 per cent expansion recorded in September 2024. The Eight Core Industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity - comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). 

Steel production having 17.92 per cent weight increased by 4.2 per cent in October, 2024 over October, 2023 and its cumulative index increased by 5.9 per cent during April to October, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Fertilizer production having 2.63 per cent weight increased by 0.4 per cent in October, 2024 over October, 2023 and its cumulative index increased by 1.5 per cent during April to October, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Cement production having 5.37 per cent weight increased by 3.3 per cent in October, 2024 over October, 2023 and its cumulative index increased by 1.8 per cent during April to October, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. 

Petroleum Refinery production having 28.04 per cent weight increased by 5.2 per cent in October, 2024 over October, 2023. Its cumulative index increased by 2.7 per cent during April to October, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Coal production having 10.33 per cent weight increased by 7.8 per cent in October, 2024 over October, 2023 and its cumulative index increased by 6.2 per cent during April to October, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Electricity generation having 19.85 per cent weight increased by 0.6 per cent in October, 2024 over October, 2023 and its cumulative index increased by 5.3 per cent during April to October, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year.

However, Natural Gas production having 6.88 per cent weight declined by 1.2 per cent in October, 2024 over October, 2023, while its cumulative index increased by 1.5 per cent during April to October, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Crude Oil production having 8.98 per cent weight declined by 4.8 per cent in October, 2024 over October, 2023 and its cumulative index declined by 2.5 per cent during April to October, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year.  

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24145.95, up by 14.85 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 24008.65 and 24182.60. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 2.84%, Grasim Industries up by 2.75%, Shriram Finance up by 2.35%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.03% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.41%. On the flip side, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.84%, Indusind Bank down by 1.22%, NTPC down by 1.13%, Adani Enterprises down by 1.05% and Bharat Electronics down by 1.02% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 27.9 points or 0.14% to 19,451.51, Shanghai Composite strengthened 35.36 points or 1.05% to 3,361.82, Straits Times rose 14.02 points or 0.37% to 3,753.31, KOSPI increased 11.32 points or 0.46% to 2,467.23, Nikkei 225 surged 328.63 points or 0.85% to 38,536.66 and Taiwan Weighted added 536.82 points or 2.35% to 22,799.32. However, Jakarta Composite plunged 13.8 points or 0.19% to 7,100.47.