Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade higher in morning deals, led by gains in FMCG, Healthcare and Consumer Durables stocks despite weak cues from global markets. Traders took support with SBI research report stating that the Reserve Bank's recent measures are likely to help India attract $55-65 billion in inflows in the current fiscal, stabilise the rupee, and push the country's balance of payments into surplus. Some optimism also came as the report stated that the government plans to push ahead with reforms, including further measures to boost foreign investment, speeding up divestment and asset monetisation, as it seeks to preserve India's growth momentum in the face of rising fuel and fertiliser import costs triggered by the West Asia crisis. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight as continuing uncertainty about the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East conflict and the related surge in crude oil prices is weighing on market sentiment.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74322.75, up by 403.99 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 73897.83 and 74458.45. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 1.57%, Healthcare up by 0.76%, Consumer Durables up by 0.44%, Bankex up by 0.20% and IT up by 0.20%, while Telecom down by 1.44%, Metal down by 1.18%, Basic Materials down by 0.36%, Oil & Gas down by 0.26% and Capital Goods down by 0.19% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.45%, Trent up by 1.51%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.34%, ICICI Bank up by 1.33% and Adani Ports &SEZ up by 1.23%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.83%, Eternal down by 0.75%, Tata Steel down by 0.64%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.61% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.37% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, Economic Adviser of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Agrim Kaushal, has said that India experienced continuous growth in its exports in recent years, driven by supportive government policies, improved digital infrastructure, better logistics and trade reforms. Further, Kaushal highlighted the government's commitment to making India a global leader in the textiles and apparel sector.
He referred to the Prime Minister's 5F vision - ‘Farm to Fibre, Fibre to Factory, Factory to Fashion, and Fashion to Foreign’ - as a key framework guiding the sector's growth. He outlined several major government interventions such as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, PM MITRA parks, Mega Textile Parks, the National Technical Textiles Mission and various export promotion measures.
He said ‘These efforts have strengthened India's textile value chain and enhanced the country's competitiveness in global markets.’ Moreover, he highlighted opportunities emerging from India's expanding network of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and the recently launched Export Promotion Mission.
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23345.95, up by 103.85 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 23217.30 and 23384.45. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Nestle up by 2.89%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.51%, Max Healthcare Inst up by 2.16%, Trent up by 1.72% and Tata Consumer Product up by 1.62%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 3.54%, Infosys down by 1.85%, Eternal down by 0.79%, Tata Steel down by 0.74% and Shriram Finance down by 0.65% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 1660.63 points or 2.54% to 63,756.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 1189.46 points or 2.66% to 43,514.98, Shanghai Composite weakened 37.64 points or 0.94% to 3,972.39, KOSPI dropped 524.93 points or 6.48% to 7,572.00, Hang Seng declined 352.9 points or 1.44% to 24,213.00 and Straits Times fell 57.47 points or 1.14% to 4,965.78.
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite gained 134.58 points or 2.34% to 5,881.23.
