Markets trade tad higher in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made a positive start on Monday tracking gains on global markets as market participants await Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th U.S. president. Soon, markets turned volatile and are trading tad higher in early deals as some volatility crept in with stock-specific action as the third quarter of the corporate earnings season is in full swing. Investors are closely tracking the December quarterly results and management commentary. Traders took note of report that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) retained India's growth forecast at 6.5 per cent for fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027. Markets participants turned cautious with report that the net foreign direct investment (FDI) in India dropped to $ 0.5 billion during April-November 2024 from $8.5 billion in the same period in 2023, reflecting the rise in repatriation and overseas investments by Indian firms.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly higher, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday, on renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates. However, traders are also cautious and reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump amid speculations on the potential impact of his policies.

Back home, auto stocks are in focus after Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said India's automobile industry will be number one in the world in the next five years, and highlighted that the industry has created 45 million jobs till now, the highest in the country. In stock specific development, Kotak Mahindra Bank traded with traction as its net profit increased by 10% year-on-year to Rs 3,305 crore for the third quarter of the financial year 2025.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76683.00, up by 63.67 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 76584.84 and 77017.54. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.55%, while Small cap index was down by 0.01%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.20%, Telecom up by 1.20%, PSU up by 0.70%, Power up by 0.53% and Utilities up by 0.51%, while Auto down by 1.10%, IT down by 0.65%, Consumer discretionary down by 0.65%, Healthcare down by 0.61% and TECK down by 0.45% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 9.14%, NTPC up by 1.61%, SBI up by 1.52%, Power Grid up by 0.91% and Reliance Industries up by 0.69%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 2.00%, Tata Motors down by 1.40%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.05%, Sun Pharma down by 0.97% and TCS down by 0.93% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its World Economic Outlook report has retained India's growth forecast at 6.5 per cent for fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027. It said the global body noted a slowdown in the Gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate adding that ‘growth in India also slowed more than expected, led by a sharper-than-expected deceleration in industrial activity.’ 

India's economic growth slowed in the second quarter of the current fiscal as it expanded only by 5.4 per cent whereas in the second quarter the GDP growth rate was recorded at 6.7 per cent. The GDP growth rate in fiscal 2024 was recorded at 8.4. However, the economy still holds the tag of ‘world's fastest growing economy’.

The report stated that the strong US dollar and potential policy rate adjustments in the United States are pressuring emerging market currencies. On the international front, the IMF forecasted that global growth is projected at 3.3 percent in both 2025 and 2026, below the historical (2000-19) average of 3.7 percent. The forecast for 2025 is broadly unchanged from that in the October 2024 World Economic Outlook (WEO), primarily on account of an upward revision in the United States offsetting downward revisions in other major economies.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23215.85, up by 12.65 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 23170.65 and 23308.35. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 9.12%, Wipro up by 7.20%, NTPC up by 1.73%, SBI up by 1.53% and Bharat Electronics up by 0.96%. On the flip side, Shriram Finance down by 3.50%, Indusind Bank down by 1.94%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.76%, Tata Motors down by 1.52% and Trent down by 1.48% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 458.91 points or 1.19% to 38,910.37, Hang Seng advanced 457.03 points or 2.28% to 20,041.09, Taiwan Weighted added 119.08 points or 0.51% to 23,267.16, Jakarta Composite gained 22.31 points or 0.31% to 7,176.97, Shanghai Composite strengthened 15.42 points or 0.47% to 3,257.24 and KOSPI increased 1.35 points or 0.05% to 2,524.90, while Straits Times fell 2.59 points or 0.07% to 3,808.19.