Domestic indices maintain gains in late morning deals

Domestic equity markets maintained their gains and were trading higher by around 0.40 percent in late morning deals on account of buying by funds and retail investors. Meanwhile, broader indices outperformed their large peers with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index gaining in the range of 0.90-1.00 percent. Positive cues from the global markets supported domestic sentiments. The sentiments were further supported by Indian rupee appreciating 18 paise to 85.50 against the dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on increased selling of the US currency by exporters and banks. Moreover, there was some encouragement in the markets as the government said India's agricultural sector has undergone a 'profound transformation' over the past 11 years through various government schemes and increased budgetary allocations, empowering farmers to lead the nation from food security to global food leadership. All the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in green led by Utilities, PSU, Power, IT and Oil & Gas. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher, following positive cues from the US markets on Friday, amid easing trade war tensions after leaders of the U.S. and China agreed to further talks aimed at reaching a deal. Back home, in the stock specific development, MCX surged after Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) granted approval to MCX for the launch of Electricity Derivatives Contracts.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82518.06, up by 329.07 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 82434.77 and 82669.00. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.93%, while Small cap index up by 1.00%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.04%, PSU up by 1.00%, Power up by 0.93%, IT up by 0.91% and Oil & Gas up by 0.91%, while there were no losers. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 3.89%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 3.02%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.52%, Trent up by 1.95% and Axis Bank up by 1.81%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.17%, Titan down by 0.88%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.32%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.32% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.20% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India's extreme poverty rate declined sharply to 5.3 per cent over a decade from 27.1 per cent in 2011-12 even as the World Bank revised upwards its threshold poverty line to $3 per day. The World Bank in its report has said that given India's inflation rate between 2017 and 2021, a revised extreme poverty line of $3 would constitute a 15 per cent higher threshold than $2.15 expressed in 2021 prices and result in a 5.3 per cent poverty rate in 2022-23. 

According to the report, in India, 54,695,832 people lived on less than $3 per day in 2024. Thus, the poverty rate at $3 per day (2021 PPP -- percentage population) is 5.44 per cent in 2024. The extreme poverty rate decreased from 16.2 to 2.3 per cent between 2011-12 and 2022-23, while the poverty rate at the lower middle income country (LMIC) line declined by 33.7 percentage points. Free and subsidised food transfers supported poverty reduction, and the rural-urban poverty gap narrowed. The five most populous states account for 54 per cent of the extremely poor. It noted that India has lifted 171 million people from extreme poverty in the decade between 2011-12 and 2022-23. The rural extreme poverty dropped from 18.4 per cent to 2.8 per cent, and urban from 10.7 per cent to 1.1 per cent, narrowing the rural-urban gap from 7.7 to 1.7 percentage points a 16 per cent annual decline.

With regard to economy, the report said real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India was around 5 per cent below the pre-pandemic trend level as of FY25. Growth should gradually converge back to potential over 2027-28 assuming the current global uncertainties are resolved in an orderly fashion. The outlook, however, is subject to significant downside risks, as policy shifts may continue to unfold globally. Elevated trade tensions would dampen demand for India's exports and further delay the recovery in investment. The current account deficit is expected to average around 1.2 per cent of GDP over FY26-28 and remain adequately financed by capital inflows, and foreign exchange reserves are projected to remain stable around 16 per cent of GDP.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25109.75, up by 106.70 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 25077.15 and 25160.10. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 3.86%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.95%, Shriram Finance up by 2.86%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.64% and Trent up by 1.96%. On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 1.34%, Titan down by 0.79%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.65%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.58% and Apollo Hospital down by 0.42% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; Hang Seng advanced 224.92 points or 0.95% to 24,017.46, Shanghai Composite strengthened 10.74 points or 0.32% to 3,396.10, Straits Times rose 7.42 points or 0.19% to 3,941.71, KOSPI increased 39.90 points or 1.42% to 2,851.95 Nikkei 225 surged 334.49 points or 0.89% to 38,076.10 and Taiwan Weighted added 117.23 points or 0.54% to 21,777.89.