Indian markets off day’s lows in early noon

Trimming some of their losses, Indian equity benchmarks came off their intraday low points during early afternoon deals, on the back of positive cues from other Asian markets along with heavy buying at Energy, Realty and Metal counters. Traders got relief, after Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal has said that India is entering the Amrit Kaal with strong macroeconomic fundamentals. The next 25 years will be a defining period for India. He said ‘Our startups will play a crucial role in realising the vision of a self-reliant, inclusive, and globally competitive India. The government is fully committed to providing all necessary support - whether it is policy initiatives, infrastructure, or access to capital - to ensure their success.’ Adding more comfort, the World Bank's latest growth estimates for South Asia stated that India's economic growth is projected to remain steady at 6.7 per cent per annum for the next the two fiscals beginning April 2025.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after Singapore's non-oil domestic exports rose for the second straight month in December. The data from Enterprise Singapore showed that non-oil domestic exports grew 9.0 percent year-over-year in November, much faster than the revised 3.4 percent rebound in the previous month. Exports of non-electronic products rose 6.6 percent in November from last year, in contrast to a 1.6 percent decline a month ago. Meanwhile, the annual growth in shipments of electronic products eased to 18.6 percent from 23.1 percent.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76685.67, down by 357.15 points or 0.46% after trading in a range of 76263.29 and 77069.19. 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 0.08%, while Small cap index was down by 0.30%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.63%, Realty up by 1.44%, Metal up by 1.33%, Capital Goods up by 1.29% and Oil & Gas up by 1.23%, while IT down by 2.31%, TECK down by 1.95%, Bankex down by 1.91% and Auto down by 0.26% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 2.79%, Nestle up by 2.38%, Zomato up by 2.21%, Asian Paints up by 2.05% and Power Grid up by 2.03%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 5.43%, Axis Bank down by 5.02%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.78%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.01% and TCS down by 1.91% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Sudhir Sekhri has said that the country's apparel exports rose 11.6 per cent to $11.31 billion during the April-December period of this fiscal year due to healthy growth in markets such as the US, the UK, and Germany.  He said this is the appropriate time when India needs to capitalise the growing opportunity and accelerate the momentum to expand its global footprints and enter new markets. 

AEPC Chairman said apparel exports have been registering a robust growth for the last six months despite global turmoil and subdued demand from major markets. He said the long-term outlook for Indian apparel exports remains positive, largely on account of improved product acceptance, adaptability to changing consumer trends, focus of factories on compliance besides industry-friendly policies.

He further said that the exports rose mainly to the US, the UK, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Japan, Australia, and Mauritius. He added that the ensuing edition of Bharat Tex will give the industry a platform that will enable great collaboration and expand sourcing networks while promoting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India.   

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23242.30, down by 69.50 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 23100.35 and 23292.10. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Reliance Industries up by 3.11%, BPCL up by 2.90%, Nestle up by 2.38%, Bharat Electronics up by 2.14% and Tata Consumer Products up by 2.14%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 5.42%, Axis Bank down by 4.73%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.54%, Shriram Finance down by 2.36% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.13% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 57.26 points or 0.29% to 19,580.15, Jakarta Composite gained 31.58 points or 0.44% to 7,139.10, Shanghai Composite strengthened 5.97 points or 0.18% to 3,242.00, Straits Times rose 10.59 points or 0.28% to 3,811.72 and Taiwan Weighted added 122.98 points or 0.53% to 23,148.08, while KOSPI dropped 3.94 points or 0.16% to 2,523.55 and Nikkei 225 slipped 121.14 points or 0.32% to 38,451.46.