Markets maintain gains in late morning deals

Indian equity markets maintained their gains in late morning deals on account of buying by funds and retail investors. Positive cues from global markets supported domestic sentiment. Sentiments got boost after a cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation report bolstered hopes that the Federal Reserve may not need to raise interest rates as aggressively this year. Traders took note of a private report stating that the U.S. Senate unveiled a revised Russia sanctions bill that significantly softens its proposed tariff penalties on major buyers of Russian oil, including India and China, reducing the maximum tariff from a blanket 500% to up to 100% for the five largest purchasers of Russian crude. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Capital Goods, Bankex, Industrials, Basic Materials and Consumer Durables, while selling was witnessed in IT, Utilities, FMCG, TECK and Metal. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher following positive cues from the U.S. markets overnight. Back home, in the stock specific development, KEC International surged as the company secured new orders of Rs 1,180 crore across various businesses.    

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77548.87, up by 493.93 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 77072.53 and 77641.86. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.16%, Bankex up by 1.06%, Industrials up by 0.83%, Basic Materials up by 0.75% and Consumer Durables up by 0.74%, while IT down by 0.49%, Utilities down by 0.48%, FMCG down by 0.22%, TECK down by 0.22% and Metal down by 0.19% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 2.66%, Eternal up by 2.47%, Interglobe Aviation up by 2.09%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.64% and Asian Paints up by 1.41%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.11%, Power Grid down by 1.05%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.82%, TCS down by 0.58% and NTPC down by 0.36% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra has asked banks to leverage advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), to enhance their outreach while ensuring robust cybersecurity and safeguards against fraud and data misuse. 

During the half-yearly meeting with managing directors and CEOs of public sector and select private sector banks, Malhotra noted that the banking sector has witnessed broad-based growth and urged the banks to continue to meet the needs of all segments and sections of the economy with renewed vigour and prudence.

Further, he stressed that banks should cultivate a culture of service excellence by keeping customers at the heart of every aspect of their operations. Besides, he highlighted the essential role of customer service excellence and keeping customers central to operations. Topics such as CKYCR, FICN, and CBDC were also discussed extensively.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24182.15, up by 130.10 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 24069.05 and 24220.35. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Shriram Finance up by 3.03%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.52%, Eternal up by 2.43%, Axis Bank up by 2.15% and Interglobe Aviation up by 2.14%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's down by 1.50%, Infosys down by 1.36%, Power Grid down by 1.35%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.97% and Hindalco Industries down by 0.97% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 881.5 points or 1.3% to 68,625.00, Taiwan Weighted added 1061.05 points or 2.32% to 45,799.00, Jakarta Composite gained 28.32 points or 0.47% to 6,067.84, Shanghai Composite strengthened 1.43 points or 0.04% to 3,968.56, KOSPI increased 435.36 points or 5.97% to 7,292.19, Hang Seng advanced 379.27 points or 1.53% to 24,720.00 and Straits Times rose 38.49 points or 0.7% to 5,534.10.