Indian equity markets were trading in red with marginal cut in late morning deals ahead of weekly F&O series expiry later in the day. Selling in Maruti Suzuki, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors and Larsen & Toubro companies’ stocks dragged the markets to trade below natural lines. Rising crude oil prices weighed on the domestic sentiments. Brent crude oil price rose over $73 per barrel after data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude oil inventories fell by 1.4 million barrels in the week ended December 6. However, losses remained capped as the Finance Ministry announced a significant improvement in the issuance of tax refunds for the financial year 2024-25. Between April 1 and November 27 this year refunds amounting to Rs 3.08 lakh crore were issued, marking a 46.31 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2023. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions IT, TECK, Utilities and Power, while selling was witnessed in PSU, Auto, Capital Goods, Industrials and Consumer Disc.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green following the release of the closely watched US inflation data that came in line with estimates. The report has increased confidence that the US Fed will lower interest rates by another quarter-point next week. Back home, in the stock specific development, Godawari Power & Ispat surged after the company has entered into an agreement with GAIL (India) for the supply of RLNG Gas for company's upcoming pellet plant in the ordinary course of business for a period of 7 years.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81447.54, down by 78.60 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 81423.92 and 81680.97. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.36%, while Small cap index down by 0.63%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.85%, TECK up by 0.82%, Utilities up by 0.42% and Power up by 0.06%, while PSU down by 0.70%, Auto down by 0.67%, Capital Goods down by 0.62%, Industrials down by 0.56% and Consumer Disc down by 0.54% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports up by 1.99%, Indusind Bank up by 1.86%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.41%, Infosys up by 1.19% and TCS up by 0.86%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.56%, NTPC down by 1.55%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.48%, Tata Motors down by 1.35% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.09% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Amardeep Singh Bhatia has said that India has reduced its tariffs significantly over the years, bringing them down to the world average level, yet the domestic industries continue to suggest increasing the duties. He said it needs to be examined why such requests come.
Talking on the export market side and integration with the (global) supply chains, the Secretary said there is also a lot of work which has been done in terms of reduction in tariff, the weighted tariff has come down substantially and it is almost at the world average level. He said ‘but of course, there are pressures that it should be increased by the domestic industry, which we need to look at why these requests keep coming up. Why are we not competitive enough. India has also free trade agreements with different countries to push exports.’
He noted that cut in customs duties on raw materials help boost domestic manufacturing, create jobs and push exports. Tariffs have been reduced in different sectors such as electronics, precious metals and chemicals. He added that the Viksit Bharat 2047 targets would lead to enhanced investments in the private sector such as clean energy. The government has taken a series of measures to promote ease of doing business in the country. A lot has been done in the industrial infrastructure space. There are more than 4,000 industrial parks in the country.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24594.90, down by 46.90 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 24584.90 and 24675.25. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 1.95%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.80%, Adani Ports up by 1.80%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.28% and Infosys up by 0.92%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 2.05%, Tata Consumer down by 1.78%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.69%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.61% and NTPC down by 1.52% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 260.54 points or 1.29% to 20,415.59, Shanghai Composite strengthened 20.38 points or 0.59% to 3,452.87, Straits Times rose 14.85 points or 0.39% to 3,807.67, KOSPI increased 28.72 points or 1.18% to 2,471.23, Nikkei 225 surged 539.97 points or 1.37% to 39,912.20 and Taiwan Weighted added 157.62 points or 0.69% to 23,061.25. However, Jakarta Composite plunged 61.19 points or 0.83% to 7,403.56.
