Sensex, Nifty remain marginally higher in early noon

Indian equity benchmarks remained marginally higher in early afternoon session, on the back of positive cues from other Asian markets along with buying at Auto, Capital Goods and Industrials counters. Domestic sentiments remained positive, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest release ‘the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting’ has said that the MPC expects domestic growth to hold up on the strength of investment demand, steady urban consumption and rising rural consumption. Gains were limited, as domestic rating agency ICRA has projected India’s Gross domestic product (GDP) growth to moderate to a six-quarter low of 6 per cent in April-June (Q1FY25) from 7.8 per cent in Q4 FY2024 on account of contraction in government capital expenditure and a dip in urban consumer demand. For the full fiscal 2024-25, ICRA expects GDP to grow 6.8 per cent, lower than the 8.2 per cent clocked in 2023-24.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after Singapore's consumer price inflation held steady in July after easing in the previous month. The data published by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Trade and Industry showed that the consumer price index rose 2.4 percent on a yearly basis in July, the same as in June, which was the lowest rate since August 2021. The stable level of inflation in July was because a slowdown in accommodation and core inflation was offset by a pickup in private transport costs.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81126.21, up by 73.02 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 80883.26 and 81231.49. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixeded; the BSE Mid cap index fell by 0.35%, while Small cap index was up by 0.13%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.07%, Capital Goods up by 0.50%, Industrials up by 0.46%, Power up by 0.44% and Consumer discretionary up by 0.37%, while Realty down by 1.92%, IT down by 0.66%, TECK down by 0.41%, Basic Materials down by 0.41% and FMCG down by 0.22% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 1.94%, Sun Pharma up by 0.99%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.94%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.80% and ICICI Bank up by 0.66%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 0.88%, Titan down by 0.78%, TCS down by 0.74%, Asian Paints down by 0.69% and Infosys down by 0.60% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, domestic rating agency ICRA has projected India’s Gross domestic product (GDP) growth to moderate to a six-quarter low of 6 per cent in April-June (Q1FY25) from 7.8 per cent in Q4 FY2024 on account of contraction in government capital expenditure and a dip in urban consumer demand. For the full fiscal 2024-25, ICRA expects GDP to grow 6.8 per cent, lower than the 8.2 per cent clocked in 2023-24.

According to the report, the June quarter of the current fiscal saw a temporary lull in some sectors due to the Parliamentary elections and sluggish government capex at both the central and state levels. Further, it said urban consumer confidence reported a surprising downtick, as per the Consumer Confidence Survey of the Reserve Bank of India. Meanwhile, it said the lingering impact of last year's unfavourable monsoon and an uneven start to the 2024 monsoon prevented a broader improvement in rural sentiment.

The report said lower volume growth combined with diminishing gains from commodity prices weighed upon the profitability of some of the industrial sectors. The heat wave also affected footfalls in various service sectors, even as it provided a significant boost to electricity demand. On balance, ICRA foresees a transient moderation in India's Gross value added (GVA) and GDP growth in Q1 FY25 to 5.7 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24842.35, up by 30.85 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 24771.65 and 24858.40. There were 22 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 4.29%, Tata Motors up by 1.95%, Coal India up by 1.90%, BPCL up by 1.87% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.53%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 1.26%, Divi's Lab down by 1.21%, LTIMindtree down by 1.12%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.90% and Titan down by 0.79% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Jakarta Composite gained 55.08 points or 0.73% to 7,543.76, Shanghai Composite strengthened 6.38 points or 0.22% to 2,855.15, Straits Times rose 10.64 points or 0.32% to 3,384.22, Nikkei 225 surged 153.26 points or 0.4% to 38,364.27 and Taiwan Weighted added 9.22 points or 0.04% to 22,158.05, while Hang Seng declined 55.8 points or 0.32% to 17,585.20 and KOSPI dropped 5.98 points or 0.22% to 2,701.69.