Indian markets stage some recovery in early afternoon

Indian equity benchmarks staged some recovery in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty trading marginally lower, supported by buying at Capital Goods and Oil & Gas counters. Traders got some relief, after a report by CRISIL stated that India's current account deficit (CAD) is to remain in a safe zone at around 1 per cent of GDP for fiscal 2025, up from 0.7 per cent in the previous year. Meanwhile, with an aim to  guard domestic manufacturers from the increase in imports that are subsidised by Vietnam, the government has initiated a countervailing duty probe into increased imports of a chemical - Calcium Carbonate Filler Masterbatch - used in the plastic industry, from Vietnam following a complaint from domestic players. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, after consumer prices in South Korea were up 2.3 percent on year in 2024, moderating from 2.5 percent in the previous year. For December, inflation rose 0.4 percent on month versus expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent following the 0.3 percent contraction in November. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78051.97, down by 196.16 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 77560.79 and 78089.58. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell by 0.32%, while Small cap index was down by 0.02%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 0.75%, Oil & Gas up by 0.75%, PSU up by 0.70%, Energy up by 0.65% and Metal up by 0.61%, while IT down by 1.59%, TECK down by 1.27%, Realty down by 1.05%, Utilities down by 0.55% and Consumer discretionary down by 0.24% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.32%, Sun Pharma up by 1.11%, SBI up by 0.97%, Tata Motors up by 0.67% and Tata Steel up by 0.55%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.88%, TCS down by 1.99%, Infosys down by 1.41%, Zomato down by 1.17% and Indusind Bank down by 0.88% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest data has showed that net claims of non-residents on India declined by $19.8 billion to $348.5 billion during the July-September quarter of 2024-25 (Q2FY25). Higher rise in Indian residents' overseas financial assets ($66.5 billion) compared to that in the foreign-owned assets in India ($46.7 billion) led to a decline in net claims of non-residents during the quarter.

It said net claims of non-residents on India is the difference between the assets and liabilities held by non-residents in India. Over 80 per cent of the increase in overseas financial assets during July-September 2024 was due to the surge of $53.8 billion in the reserve assets. 

RBI further said the rise in inward portfolio investment ($16.5 billion) and loans ($15.4 billion) together accounted for over two-thirds of the rise in foreign liabilities of Indian residents during the quarter. Variation in the exchange rate of rupee vis-a-vis other currencies impacted the change in liabilities when valued in US dollar terms. Further, the ratio of India's international assets to international liabilities improved to 76.2 per cent in September 2024 from 74.1 per cent a quarter ago and 71.4 per cent a year ago. The share of debt liabilities in total external liabilities increased to 52.7 per cent in September 2024 from 51.1 per cent a year ago.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23608.30, down by 36.60 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 23460.45 and 23624.75. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 2.45%, Bharat Electronics up by 2.35%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.34%, Coal India up by 1.02% and Sun Pharma up by 0.99%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 2.90%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.61%, TCS down by 2.02%, Infosys down by 1.50% and Wipro down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Shanghai Composite weakened 51.15 points or 1.5% to 3,356.18, Straits Times fell 8.13 points or 0.21% to 3,787.60 and Taiwan Weighted lost 155.1 points or 0.67% to 23,035.10, while Hang Seng advanced 18.53 points or 0.09% to 20,059.95 and Jakarta Composite gained 43.33 points or 0.62% to 7,079.90.