Key gauges rise for fifth straight day on strong global cues

Rising for the fifth straight day, Indian equity benchmarks ended with strong gains on Thursday, propelled by buying in TECK, IT and Telecom stocks amid a rally in the U.S. markets. Markets made positive start but soon erased gains and witnessed selling pressure in the first half as traders turned cautious after World Bank International Debt Report noted that India's total external debt has increased by $31 billion to $646.79 billion in 2023. The report further said that interest payment increased from $ 15.08 billion in 2022 to $ 22.54 billion in 2023.

However, buying activity picked up during second half of the trading session, leading key indices to end the day on a firm note. Traders took some support with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) stating that India will continue to grow at near 7 percent growth rates over the next two years, as strong investment and recovery in farm output help sustain the momentum. OECD in a report said strong investment is the main driver of this robust performance, with accelerating public infrastructure outlays. Some support also came with Niti Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam’s statement that US President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to impose high tariffs on three of its trading partners, including China will provide huge export opportunities for India and the domestic industry should prepare itself to tap into that. Recently, Trump vowed to introduce 25 per cent tariffs (or customs duty) on imports from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10 per cent on China. Besides, a positive turnaround from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) for the past couple of days to India in expectation of a dovish monetary policy by RBI supported the sentiment. The RBI Monetary Policy Committee headed by Governor Shaktikanta Das will announce its policy review on December 6. 

On the global front, European markets were trading higher as President Emmanuel Macron seeks a way out of France's political crisis. Asian markets settled mostly higher on Thursday as weaker-than-expected U.S. private sector employment and service sector activity data contributed to optimism about the outlook for interest rates. Traders now expect a third consecutive interest-rate cut at the U.S. central bank's December 17-18 meeting. Back home, on the sectoral front, stocks related to fertiliser sector were in watch as Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) has asserted that there is no shortage of Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) in the country despite fall in imports and production in the first seven months of this financial year. FAI also demanded that the DAP should command the highest price among all non-urea fertilisers, because of its high nutritional value. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 809.53 points or 1.00% to 81,765.86, and the CNX Nifty was up by 240.95 points or 0.98% to 24,708.40.       

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 82,317.74 and 80,467.37 respectively. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.27%, while Small cap index was up by 0.16%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were TECK up by 1.92%, IT up by 1.81%, Telecom up by 0.95%, Bankex up by 0.68% and Consumer Durables up by 0.66%, while Realty down by 0.30% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 2.39%, Infosys up by 2.33%, Titan Company up by 2.23%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.95% and Bajaj Finance up by 1.68%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 0.98%, Asian Paints down by 0.30% and Indusind Bank down by 0.10% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the World Bank in its latest International Debt Report has showed that India's total external debt surged to $646.79 billion in 2023, a $31 billion increase, while interest payment also jumped from $15.08 billion in 2022 to $22.54 billion in 2023.

According to the report, the long-term debt stocks have risen 7 per cent to $498 billion in 2023, while short-term debt stocks declined marginally to $126.32 billion in 2023. The external debt stock as a percentage of exports was 80 per cent, while debt servicing was 10 per cent of exports in 2023.

The report further noted that net debt inflows during the year worked out to be $33.42 billion, while the net equity inflows was higher at $46.94 billion in 2023. Meanwhile, the International Debt Report (IDR) is a longstanding annual publication of the World Bank featuring external debt statistics and analysis for the low- and middle-income countries that report to the World Bank Debtor Reporting System (DRS).

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 24,857.75 and 24,295.55. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Trent up by 3.31%, Infosys up by 2.42%, TCS up by 2.31%, Titan Company up by 2.19% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.18%. On the flip side, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.21%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.09%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.05%, NTPC down by 0.90% and Grasim Industries down by 0.38% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 1.97 points or 0.02% to 8,337.78, France’s CAC rose 27.24 points or 0.37% to 7,330.52 and Germany’s DAX gained 87.63 points or 0.43% to 20,319.77.

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Thursday tracking Wall Street’s gains overnight following positive comments by US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on the growth and inflation outlook, while release of some weaker-than-expected US private sector employment and service sector activity data also contributed to optimism about interest rates outlook. Although, geopolitical concerns in the Middle East and Ukraine as well as the political crises in South Korea and France have limited further gains. Chinese shares gained ahead of upcoming annual policy meeting that could roll out new stimulus measures. Japanese shares rose modestly as technology shares tracked their US peers higher, but the Japanese yen saw modest gains on hopes that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates for the third time this year. Seoul shares extended losses from the previous session as investors remained worried over political turmoil after President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived attempt at martial law.