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Domestic indices trade higher with marginal gains in early deals
Apr-26-2024

Indian equity benchmarks made positive start on Friday tracking gains in Asian counterparts. Domestic indices are trading higher with marginal gains in early deals on account of buying in IT, Consumer Durables and TECK counters. Sentiments got a boost as the department of economic affairs in its monthly economic review for March said that further easing of food prices is on the anvil as IMD has predicted above-normal rainfall during the monsoon season, which is likely to lead to higher production, assuming good spatial and temporal distribution of the rainfall. The report added that India's economic performance has remained robust despite global challenges and geopolitical concerns. Some support also came in as United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its latest report said that India's services exports jumped 11.4 per cent to $345 billion in 2023 despite global economic uncertainties. However, upside remained capped amid foreign fund outflows. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold Rs 2,823.33 crore shares on April 25, provisional data from the NSE showed. 

On the global front, most of the Asian markets are trading higher, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remained cautious and were reluctant to take up long positions ahead of key data from the U.S. They also continued to pick up stocks at a bargain following the recent sell-off. Meanwhile, consumer prices in the Tokyo region of Japan were up 1.8 percent on year in April. Moreover, The Bank of Japan will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Friday and then announce its decision on interest rates. The BoJ is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate steady at 0.1 percent. Back home, on the sectoral front, real estate industry stocks are in focus with a private report that consumers sentiments in India's housing market remain positive despite a rise in prices. In stock specific development, Tech Mahindra zoomed after Q4 profit rises sequentially.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74413.10, up by 73.66 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 74351.79 and 74515.91. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.51%, while Small cap index was up by 0.48%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.41%, Consumer Durables up by 1.04%, TECK up by 0.99%, Metal up by 0.72% and Basic Materials up by 0.49%, while Realty down by 0.43%, Telecom down by 0.21%, Utilities down by 0.02% and FMCG down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 12.42%, Wipro up by 2.47%, Tata Steel up by 1.01%, HDFC Bank up by 1.01% and HCL Technologies up by 0.79%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 6.37%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.71%, Nestle down by 1.05%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.00% and SBI down by 0.45% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid uncertain global conditions, the finance ministry in its Monthly Economic Review for March has said that resilient growth, price stability and steady external sector outlook continue to support India's promising economic performance. The Monthly Economic Review report said overall, India continues to be the fastest-growing major economy, with positive assessments of the growth outlook for the current financial year for India by international organisations and the RBI.

The report said the global economic growth landscape is seeing a gradual resurgence, marked by fading fears of recession and rebounding growth in major economies. Geopolitical tensions remain a concern, but notwithstanding recent developments, risk perceptions have softened, offering a potential upside for growth. Talking about global economic growth recovery, the report said it is underway in major economies, although disparities persist. It said ‘While the leading indicators signal increased economic activity and geopolitical tensions have eased slightly, recent conflicts continue to pose risks. Despite the global challenges, India stands out with its strong economic performance, highlighting broad-based growth across sectors and asserting its pivotal role in supporting the global growth trajectory’.

It said global slowdown led to a moderation in India's merchandise exports and imports, and added that the slowing of trade has resulted in the merchandise trade deficit narrowing in FY2023-24, as exports have shown a smaller contraction than imports. However, the non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery merchandise exports have shown resilience with a sustained uptick in the last few months, growing at 3 per cent in FY24. Services exports expanded at the fastest pace in FY24, supported by rising software exports and business services exports. 

Owing to these developments, it said India's current account deficit improved in the first nine months of 2023-24 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. India's capital inflows saw a significant turnaround in 2023-24, and its foreign exchange reserves reached an all-time high in March 2024, sufficient to cover 11 months of projected imports and more than 100 per cent of total external debt.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22589.40, up by 19.05 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 22575.35 and 22620.40. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 11.54%, LTIMindtree up by 3.40%, Divi's Lab up by 2.74%, Wipro up by 2.29% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.36%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 6.44%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.46%, Tata Consumer Products down by 1.63%, Apollo Hospital down by 1.20% and Nestle down by 1.13% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted soared 315.45 points or 1.59% to 20,172.87, Hang Seng jumped 307.16 points or 1.78% to 17,591.70, Nikkei 225 surged 267.38 points or 0.71% to 37,895.86, KOSPI rose 27.90 points or 1.06% to 2,656.52 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 24.02 points or 0.78% to 3,076.92. On the other hand, Jakarta Composite fell 48.9 points or 0.68% to 7,106.39 and Straits Times was down by 8.67 points or 0.26% to 3,279.08.
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