Firm trade persists over Dalal Street

A firm trade persisted over the Dalal Street in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty trading notably higher, aided by positive cues from other Asian markets along with heavy buying at almost all sectors. Leading sector among gainers was Realty, followed by Basic Materials and Oil & Gas. However, gains got trimmed as traders got cautious amid reports that the finance ministry has intensified its monitoring of the West Asian conflict following last week's assassination of the Hamas chief in Iran, an act attributed to Israel, which has raised fears of a broader regional escalation. This conflict could impact global oil prices, capital flows, currency movements, and shipping costs. Despite these concerns, the conflict is unlikely to pose any major risk yet, with India's robust macroeconomic fundamentals expected to help it withstand any potential crisis without significant damage.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after the average of household spending in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent on month in June, coming in at 280,888 yen. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent following the 0.3 percent decline in May. On a yearly basis, household spending sank 1.4 percent - again missing forecasts for a decline of 0.9 percent following the 1.8 percent slump in the previous month.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79173.74, up by 414.34 points or 0.53% after trading in a range of 78981.97 and 79852.08. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index jumped by 1.15%, while Small cap index was up by 1.13%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.79%, Basic Materials up by 1.44%, Oil & Gas up by 1.35%, Capital Goods up by 1.27% and Energy up by 1.21%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were JSW Steel up by 3.31%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.30%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.10%, HCL Tech. up by 1.83% and Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.75%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.68%, HDFC Bank down by 0.22%, ICICI Bank down by 0.15% and Infosys down by 0.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that reforms in certain customs and banking rules, access to credit, and incentives at par with China will be key for India to boost its exports through e-commerce medium to $350 billion by 2030. It also suggested creation of separate regulations and ecosystems to support two different types of e-commerce exports - direct export and overseas warehouse models; supporting firm to open warehouses in key foreign cities; export incentives at par with physical shipments; marketing support; and creation of regional hubs for MSMEs. 

GTRI said the global cross-border e-commerce exports are projected to grow from $1 trillion in 2023 to $8 trillion by 2030 on account of the ability of online firms to deliver overseas products to consumers within 1-2 days, matching the speed and convenience of local supplies. India's e-commerce exports could grow from $5 billion to $350 billion by 2030, thanks to strengths in customized products, traditional crafts, and a growing base of over 100,000 sellers. At present, the domestic sector is facing different issues and as successful e-commerce policies in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam have helped many firms sell globally, India too needs to publish an e-commerce export policy and these steps.  

It said that Indian regulations primarily cater to the direct export model, and separate regulations need to be introduced for meeting the needs of the warehouse model which has several benefits such as over 50 per cent savings in freight, no customs delays, and faster delivery. Warehouses can be established by the government, private sector, or e-commerce firms and efficient warehouse management including using foreign warehouses will immediately boost India's e-commerce exports. Currently, over 60 per cent of China's global cross-border e-commerce exports use overseas warehouses.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24188.00, up by 132.40 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 24131.00 and 24382.60. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 3.26%, Britannia up by 3.15%, Adani Enterprises up by 2.88%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.30% and Tech Mahindra up by 2.13%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.62%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.33%, Shriram Finance down by 1.20%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.12% and Eicher Motors down by 0.32% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Jakarta Composite gained 99.36 points or 1.41% to 7,159.01, Shanghai Composite strengthened 4.23 points or 0.15% to 2,864.93, KOSPI increased 80.60 points or 3.2% to 2,522.15, Nikkei 225 surged 3217.04 points or 9.28% to 34,675.46 and Taiwan Weighted added 670.14 points or 3.27% to 20,501.02, while Hang Seng declined 8.99 points or 0.05% to 16,689.37 and Straits Times fell 31.49 points or 0.97% to 3,212.18.