Domestic indices maintain gains in late morning deals

Domestic equity markets maintained their gains in late morning deals as market percipients indulged in enlarging their positions.  Meanwhile, broader indices were also trading in green with BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index gaining in the range of 0.20-0.40%.  Hectic buying in the Indusind Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Ultratech Cement and Kotak Mahindra Bank stocks helped the markets to maintain their gains. Falling crude oil prices and firm cues from global markets supported domestic sentiments. Sentiments were upbeat as data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed overseas Indians deposited around $4 billion in non-resident Indian (NRI) deposit schemes in April - June FY25, up 79 per cent over the amount deposited in these schemes in the same period last year. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Bankex, IT, Utilities, TECK and Energy, while selling was witnessed in Capital Goods, Consumer Durables, FMCG, Industrials and Telecom. 

On the global front, Asian markets were mostly trading in green following positive cues from the US markets overnight. Traders took note of report that China’s central bank left its one-year and five-year loan prime rates unchanged at 3.35% and 3.85% respectively, in line with expectations. Back home, in the stocks specific developments, ONGC declined as oil extended losses on China demand concerns and easing geopolitical risks after Israel agreed to a proposal to resolve issues that were impeding a ceasefire accord in Gaza.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80874.17, up by 449.49 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 80517.95 and 80938.28. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.36%, while Small cap index up by 0.22%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.13%, IT up by 0.83%, Utilities up by 0.41%, TECK up by 0.39% and Energy up by 0.30%, while Capital Goods down by 0.39%, Consumer Durables down by 0.18%, FMCG down by 0.18%, Industrials down by 0.11% and Telecom down by 0.02% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 3.18%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.57%, Axis Bank up by 1.79%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.53% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.46%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.03%, Tata Steel down by 0.68%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.41%, Tata Motors down by 0.40% and JSW Steel down by 0.34% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in its latest data has showed that India's domestic air passenger traffic grew 7.3 per cent to 129.87 lakh in July 2024 from 121 lakh in the same month last year. However, the air traffic in July was lower compared to 132.06 lakh people carried by the domestic airlines in June this year. Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-July 2024 were 923.35 lakh as against 881.94 lakh during the corresponding period of the previous year thereby registering an annual growth of 4.70 per cent and monthly growth of 7.33 per cent. 

During the reporting month, budget carrier IndiGo continued to dominate domestic air traffic with its market share rising to 62 per cent in July while that of Air India dropped to 14.3 per cent. In July 2024, the domestic market share of Vistara climbed to 10 per cent while that of AIX Connect and SpiceJet declined to 4.5 per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively. Also, Akasa Air and Alliance Air's share slipped to 4.7 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively.

The data also showed that 1,114 passengers were denied boarding and airlines doled out Rs 112.71 lakh towards compensation and facilities. As many as 1,54,770 passengers were affected by cancellations and carriers spent Rs 110.59 lakh for compensation and facilities in this regard. On account of flight delays, 3,20,302 passengers were impacted in July and airlines shelled out Rs 341.05 lakh towards facilitation. In July 2024, the overall cancellation rate of the airlines touched 1.90 per cent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24709.45, up by 136.80 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 24607.20 and 24734.30. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 3.01%, SBI Life up by 2.94%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.68%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.32% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.91%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 1.55%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.00%, Cipla down by 0.98%, Tata Steel down by 0.68% and Tata Consumer down by 0.61% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Jakarta Composite gained 50.19 points or 0.67% to 7,517.02, Straits Times rose 20.79 points or 0.62% to 3,376.35, KOSPI increased 21.38 points or 0.79% to 2,695.74 and Nikkei 225 surged 775.93 points or 2.03% to 38,164.55. However, Hang Seng declined 64.58 points or 0.37% to 17,504.99, Shanghai Composite weakened 31.64 points or 1.11% to 2,862.03 and Taiwan Weighted lost 23.99 points or 0.11% to 22,385.64.