Positive momentum persists over Dalal Street

A positive momentum persisted over the Dalal Street in late morning session, following the Federal Reserve's confirmation of its forecast for two rate cuts within 2025, which has instilled optimism among investors. Positive cues from other Asian markets and heavy buying at TECK and IT counters also provided support to the indices. Investors remained positive, after the government said that the central government has released Rs 7.8 lakh crore from 2014-15 to 2024-25 under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA), resulting in the creation of as many as 8.07 crore rural assets. Besides, the State of Economy report released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that easing inflation may help India counter the headwinds from trade tensions and uncertainty about the global economy.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green, even after Indonesia's central bank left its benchmark interest rates unchanged, as widely expected. The Bank Indonesia Board, led by Governor Perry Warjiyo, decided to maintain the BI rate at 5.75 percent. The bank had reduced the rate in January, which was the first reduction since September 2024. The deposit facility rate was retained at 5.00 percent and the lending rate at 6.50 percent.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 75909.32, up by 460.27 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 75684.58 and 76013.82. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.53%, while Small cap index was up by 0.48%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were TECK up by 1.63%, IT up by 1.39%, Auto up by 1.11%, Healthcare up by 1.10% and Oil & Gas up by 1.08%, while Power down by 0.24%, Industrials down by 0.20%, Utilities down by 0.03% and Capital Goods down by 0.02% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan up by 2.82%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.51%, TCS up by 2.08%, HCL Tech. up by 1.78% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.68%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.41%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.76%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.70%, Indusind Bank down by 0.63% and Axis Bank down by 0.38% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal during the 4th National Sagarmala Apex Committee (NSAC) meet has said that the government is planning Sagarmala 2.0 with a new funding to bridge infrastructure gaps. He said ‘as we move towards Sagarmala 2.0, our focus is on bridging critical infrastructure gaps with fresh investments, driving coastal economic growth, and positioning India as a global maritime leader’. 

The minister further said the government has invested Rs 5.79 lakh crore to develop 839 projects in the country under the Sagarmala programme. He asserted that the Modi government is committed to Maritime Sector transformation. 

The NSAC meet decided to boost port led development and enhance maritime infrastructure of the country. The implementation status of key projects under Sagarmala -- the flagship programme of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) -- was reviewed under the meet. 

Sagarmala 2.0 is a visionary upgrade with a new focus on shipbuilding, repair, breaking, and recycling. Sagarmala 1.0 will be over in 2026. Backed by Rs 40,000 crore in budgetary support, it aims to catalyse investments worth Rs 12 lakh crore over the next decade. Sagarmala has made India’s ports faster, boosted the coastal economy, revived inland waterways, and improved global logistics rankings.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23057.50, up by 149.90 points or 0.65% after trading in a range of 22973.95 and 23071.10. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Titan up by 2.86%, Eicher Motors up by 2.68%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.61%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.14% and TCS up by 2.11%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.34%, Apollo Hospital down by 0.92%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.87%, Indusind Bank down by 0.69% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Jakarta Composite gained 56.97 points or 0.89% to 6,368.63, Straits Times rose 25.92 points or 0.66% to 3,934.23, KOSPI increased 6.57 points or 0.25% to 2,635.19 and Taiwan Weighted added 416.43 points or 1.86% to 22,377.26, while Shanghai Composite weakened 9.31 points or 0.27% to 3,417.12 and Hang Seng declined 362.05 points or 1.46% to 24,409.09.