Key gauges extend gains in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks extended gains in morning deals, driven by buying in blue-chip stocks and fresh foreign fund inflows. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Tuesday after unabated selling. They bought equities worth Rs 4,786.56 crore, according to exchange data. Some support also came as the commerce ministry’s data showed the bilateral trade between India and the UAE grew 21.35 per cent to $80.51 billion during the April-January period this fiscal year. While India's exports to the UAE rose 6.82 per cent to $30 billion during the first 10 months of this fiscal year, imports during this period rose 35.58 per cent to $50.51 billion. Some support also came as Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada stated that India is formulating strategies to ensure that interests of domestic exporters are protected. He also said that with a 1.4 billion domestic market, India is navigating free trade agreements on an equal footing. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as the threat of a broader global trade war and geopolitical uncertainty continued to weigh on investors. Investors are closely watching the Federal Reserve’s January policy meeting minutes, set for release after market hours, amid signals that the central bank is in no rush to cut rates. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76256.27, up by 288.88 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 75581.38 and 76305.89. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.23%, while Small cap index was up by 2.18%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.77%, Industrials up by 2.34%, Capital Goods up by 1.94%, PSU up by 1.66% and Metal up by 1.42%, while TECK down by 0.37%, IT down by 0.22% and Healthcare down by 0.12% were the losing indices on BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Zomato up by 2.49%, Tata Steel up by 1.64%, Axis Bank up by 1.45%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.36% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.33%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.21%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.81%, Infosys down by 0.71%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.65% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) in its 25th Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data has showed that the unemployment rate in urban areas for people aged 15 years and above is dipped to 6.4 per cent in the October-December quarter from 6.5% for the same quarter of FY24. However, when compared sequentially it remained flat. Joblessness, or unemployment rate, is defined as the percentage of unemployed people in the labour force. 

The unemployment rate among females in urban areas has declined to 8.1 per cent in October-December 2024 from 8.6 per cent in the same quarter a year ago, while it was 8.4 per cent for the July-September quarter of 2024. While the unemployment rate among males in urban areas remained flat at 5.8 per cent in October-December 2024 as compared to the rate of the same quarter a year ago and it was 5.7 per cent for July-September quarter of 2024.

Labour force participation rate in Current Weekly Status (CWS) in urban areas for people aged 15 years and above increased to 50.4 per cent in October-December from 49.9 per cent in the same quarter a year ago and 50.4 per cent for July-September quarter of 2024. Labour force refers to the part of the population, which supplies or offers to supply labour for pursuing economic activities for the production of goods and services and, therefore, includes both employed and unemployed persons.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23036.45, up by 91.15 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 22814.85 and 23043.05. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharat Electronics up by 2.86%, Trent up by 1.74%, Tata Steel up by 1.68%, Axis Bank up by 1.40% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.39%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.78%, TCS down by 1.32%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.97%, Britannia Industries down by 0.96% and Cipla down by 0.85% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 157.75 points or 0.4% to 39,112.65, Taiwan Weighted lost 99.54 points or 0.42% to 23,566.57, Hang Seng declined 65.19 points or 0.28% to 22,911.62 and Jakarta Composite plunged 23.65 points or 0.34% to 6,849.90.

On the flip side, KOSPI increased 49.31 points or 1.88% to 2,676.12, Straits Times rose 4.17 points or 0.11% to 3,929.73 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 17.99 points or 0.54% to 3,342.48.