Markets continue to trade higher in late morning deals

Indian equity markets trimmed some of their gains but continued to trade in green in late morning deals amid mixed cues from the other Asian markets. Meanwhile, broader indices outperformed their large peers with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index gaining in the range of 0.75-1.00%. Traders overlooked report that the Ministry of Commerce & Industry in its latest data has showed the output of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to 3.8 per cent (provisional) in March 2025, as against 6.3 per cent growth registered a year ago. Banking industry related stocks were in focus as RBI amended liquidity coverage ratio norms, halved digital deposit buffer to 2.5%. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed following the broadly negative cues from US markets overnight, as traders remained cautious and concerned about a global trade war. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Realty, Consumer Durables, FMCG, Bankex and Healthcare, while selling was witnessed in TECK, IT and Power. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79672.86, up by 264.36 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 79253.44 and 79824.30. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.77%, while Small cap index up by 0.97%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.38%, Consumer Durables up by 0.95%, FMCG up by 0.94%, Bankex up by 0.88% and Healthcare up by 0.77%, while TECK down by 0.47%, IT down by 0.34% and Power down by 0.23% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.89%, Eternal up by 1.64%, HDFC Bank up by 1.48%, SBI up by 1.43% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.35%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 4.31%, Infosys down by 1.56%, Power Grid down by 1.09%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.04% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.69% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, to avert any possible risks during the time of distress, RBI has directed banks to assign additional 2.5 per cent liquidity buffer rate to internet and mobile banking-enabled retail and small business customer deposits from April 1, 2026. Earlier in July last year, the RBI had proposed an additional 5 per cent run-off factor, which means the probability of deposits getting withdrawn/transferred, including in stressed situations. Meanwhile, as per the new guidelines, a bank shall assign an additional 2.5 per cent run-off factor for retail deposits which are enabled with internet and mobile banking facilities (IMB) i.e., stable retail deposits enabled with IMB shall have 7.5 per cent run-off factor and less stable deposits enabled with IMB shall have 12.5 per cent run-off factor (as against 5 and 10 per cent respectively, prescribed currently).

RBI, in its draft, had proposed implementation of additional run-off factor from April 1, 2025. In February this year, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra had indicated that the liquidity coverage ratio implementation will be deferred by at least a year. Banks covered under liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) framework are required to maintain a stock of high-quality liquid assets (HQLA) to cover the expected net cash outflows in the next 30 calendar days. In addition, the latest guidelines also rationalise the composition of wholesale funding from 'other legal entities'. Consequently, funding from non-financial entities like trusts (educational, charitable and religious), partnerships, LLPs, shall attract a lower run-off rate of 40 per cent as against 100 per cent currently.

The central bank estimates that the measure will improve banks’ LCR by around 6 percentage points at aggregate as on that date, while all banks will continue to meet the minimum regulatory LCR requirements comfortably. Further, it added that, Reserve Bank is sanguine that these measures will enhance the liquidity resilience of banks in India, and further align the guidelines with the global standards in a non-disruptive manner. The revised instructions will become applicable from April 1, 2026, to give the banks adequate time to transition their systems to the new standards for LCR computation.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24190.15, up by 64.60 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 24072.00 and 24242.60. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.88%, Tata Consumer up by 1.79%, Eternal up by 1.60%, HDFC Bank up by 1.43% and SBI up by 1.41%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 4.33%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.21%, Infosys down by 1.66%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.42% and Power Grid down by 1.14% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 149.83 points or 0.7% to 21,544.97, Jakarta Composite gained 57.52 points or 0.88% to 6,503.49, Shanghai Composite strengthened 15.05 points or 0.46% to 3,306.48 and Straits Times rose 40.6 points or 1.07% to 3,799.82. However, KOSPI dropped 3.59 points or 0.14% to 2,484.83, Nikkei 225 slipped 82.69 points or 0.24% to 34,197.23 and Taiwan Weighted lost 312.77 points or 1.66% to 18,793.43.