Domestic indices maintain gains in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices maintained their gains and were trading higher by over half percent in late morning deals as market participants indulged in enlarging their positions. Hectic buying in Indusind Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv supported the markets to maintain their gains. Positive cues from the other Asian markets supported domestic sentiments. Traders overlooked report that think tank GTRI said the depreciation of Indian rupee against the US dollar is expected to push the country's import bill by about $15 billion. Banking industry related stocks were in focus as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2023-24 has said the profitability of banks has maintained an upward momentum on the sixth consecutive year in 2023-24. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Auto, Consumer, Healthcare, Bankex FMCG, while selling was witnessed in Realty, Oil & Gas, PSU, Metal and Capital Goods.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green despite China’s industrial profits extended declines to a fourth straight month, dropping 7.3% in November from a year earlier. Meanwhile, November inflation number from Japan’s capital of Tokyo, which saw its headline inflation rate come in at 3%, compared to 2.6% in October. Back home, in the stock specific development, Power Mech Projects surged after the company secured a Rs 186 crore order from Jaiprakash Power Ventures (JPVL). 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78877.70, up by 405.22 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 78598.55 and 79043.15. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.06%, while Small cap index up by 0.09%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.41%, Consumer Disc up by 0.56%, Healthcare up by 0.55%, Bankex up by 0.50% and FMCG up by 0.31%, while Realty down by 0.59%, Oil & Gas down by 0.20%, PSU down by 0.17%, Metal down by 0.16% and Capital Goods down by 0.16% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 3.57%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.20%, Tata Motors up by 2.18%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.90% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.22%. On the flip side, Zomato down by 0.59%, Power Grid down by 0.35%, HCL Technologies  down by 0.33%, TCS down by 0.29% and Tata Steel down by 0.21% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry in its 2024 year-end review has said that the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC) is aiming to reduce the export credit gap through the Whole Turnover Export Credit Insurance for Banks (WT-ECIB) scheme, which is expected to benefit about 1,000 new small exporters, in addition to the existing 8,000-odd by facilitating the availability of adequate and affordable export finance from banks for working capital.

The ministry said ECGC has extended the scope of its WT-ECIB scheme to export credit working capital limits up to Rs 80 crore with effect from July 1. It also said that the India-Sri Lanka Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) negotiations are ongoing with the 14th round of negotiations concluded in July.

It said except the track on goods dealing with specific lines pertaining to garments, negotiations on almost all chapters including services and Rules of Origin have been concluded. It added that India is leveraging its free trade agreement engagements to enhance services trade through these pacts by ensuring certainty in market access, non-discriminatory treatment and a transparent and objective regulatory environment.  

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23885.60, up by 135.40 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 23800.60 and 23938.85. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 3.62%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.38%, Tata Motors up by 2.35%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.20% and Bajaj Finance up by 2.11%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 0.90%, Hindalco down by 0.45%, ONGC down by 0.42%, HCL Technologies down by 0.42% and HDFC Life down by 0.32% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 23.49 points or 0.12% to 20,121.78, Shanghai Composite strengthened 7.5 points or 0.22% to 3,405.58, Straits Times rose 3.09 points or 0.08% to 3,764.54, Nikkei 225 surged 782.83 points or 1.94% to 40,350.89 and Taiwan Weighted added 28.74 points or 0.12% to 23,275.68. However, Jakarta Composite plunged 8.46 points or 0.12% to 7,057.29 and KOSPI dropped 20.87 points or 0.87% to 2,408.80.