Bourses maintain upward momentum in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets maintained their upward momentum in late afternoon session on the back of buying interest across some blue chip counters. Investors were braced for key macroeconomic data i.e. India Industrial Production (IIP) and Consumer Price Index (CPI).  Sector wise, leather and footwear industry remained in focus as Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal asked the country's leather and footwear industry to target $50 billion in exports by 2030. He also asked the industry to take advantage of various free trade agreements (FTAs) signed by India and focus on manufacturing world class products to tap global markets. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as encouraging U.S. labor market data brought some relief to investors worried about a slowing economy. European markets were trading higher after new U.S. labor market data eased recession concerns in the world's largest economy. Also, a measure of China's consumer price inflation surged to a five-month high, providing much-need positive news on the world's second-largest economy.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79683.30, up by 797.08 points or 1.01% after trading in a range of 79549.09 and 79984.24. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.28%, while Small cap index was up by 0.89%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.79%, Auto up by 1.67%, Consumer Discretionary up by 1.59%, IT up by 1.46% and Capital Goods was up by 1.40%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 2.79%, JSW Steel up by 2.78%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.46%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.40% and HCL Tech up by 2.14%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 0.14%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.08% and Asian Paints down by 0.03% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest survey report has showed that households’ optimism on economic conditions for the year ahead remained in positive terrain, though it came down from the previous survey round. It said lower optimism on general economic situation, employment and prices led to 4.1 point moderation in the future expectations index (FEI) to 120.7 in July 2024. According to the survey report, sentiments on current employment situation and own income deteriorated for the second consecutive survey round. Besides, the outlook for both these parameters also moderated within the zone of optimism.

The results of July 2024 round of its bi-monthly consumer confidence survey (CCS) have been released by RBI. The survey collects current perceptions (vis-a-vis a year ago) and one year ahead expectations of households on general economic situation, employment scenario, overall price situation, own income and spending across 19 major cities. The latest round of the survey was conducted during July 2-11, 2024, covering 6,062 respondents. Female respondents accounted for 54.4 per cent of this sample.

The survey report also showed that consumer confidence for current period declined for the second consecutive survey round after prolonged rising trend in the post-Covid period and their sentiments on major parameters, except spending, moderated and, as a result, the current situation index (CSI) declined to 93.9 in July 2024 from 97.1 two months earlier.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24371.65, up by 254.65 points or 1.06% after trading in a range of 24311.20 and 24419.75. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 5.79%, ONGC up by 3.19%, Shriram Finance up by 2.76%, Tata Motors up by 2.71% and JSW Steel up by 2.66%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 1.06%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.64%, Asian Paints down by 0.49%, Britannia down by 0.17% and Indusind Bank down by 0.14% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 598.9 points or 2.79% to 21,469.00, Hang Seng advanced 198.4 points or 1.16% to 17,090.23, Nikkei 225 surged 193.85 points or 0.55% to 35,025.00, Jakarta Composite gained 57.26 points or 0.79% to 7,252.38 and KOSPI was up by 31.70 points or 1.22% to 2,588.43. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was down by 7.71 points or 0.27% to 2,862.19.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 45.28 points or 0.56% to 8,190.25, France’s CAC rose 59.89 points or 0.83% to 7,307.34 and Germany’s DAX was up by 83.86 points or 0.47% to 17,764.26.