Benchmarks extend gains in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks extended gains in morning deals, led by gains in IT, TECK and Consumer Durables stocks and foreign fund inflow. As per exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) were net buyers of Indian equities worth Rs 1,944.48 crore on August 23, 2024.  Likewise, the DII's were net buyers of equities worth Rs 2,896.02 crore. Sentiments remained positive as the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India showed that India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $4.54 billion to $674.66 billion in the week ended August 16. The total reserves increased on the back of a rise in foreign currency assets, which grew by $3.6 billion during the week. In the week ended August 9, the reserves had decreased by $4.8 billion to $670.119 billion after hitting an all-time high of $674.91 billion in the week ended August 2. Traders overlooked an analysis of the latest quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) showed that the jobless rate for women in urban areas worsened during the first quarter (April-June) this financial year, showing the increased barriers for women looking for work. The data shows the women unemployment rate increased in urban areas to 9 per cent in April-June (Q1) from 8.5 per cent in the preceding quarter. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed showing cautious optimism as investors await critical inflation data anticipated to guide potential rate cuts in the U.S. and Europe.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81791.14, up by 704.93 points or 0.87% after trading in a range of 81278.44 and 81820.23. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.62%, while Small cap index was up by 0.40%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.54%, TECK up by 1.35%, Consumer Durables up by 1.19%, Oil & Gas up by 0.88% and Energy up by 0.86%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 1.83%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.79%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.52%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.51% and HDFC Bank up by 1.31%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 0.13%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 0.11%, Sun Pharma down by 0.08% and Indusind Bank down by 0.05% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India has said that despite a challenging global environment, India's engineering goods exports continued their upward trajectory in July with a 3.6 per cent year-on-year growth, reflecting the sector's resilience.

The engineering goods exports were $9.04 billion in July 2024, compared to $8.72 billion a year ago month. However, exports to countries like Bangladesh and Russia recorded a decline during the month under review. The sector's cumulative exports for the April-July period also witnessed a healthy 4.18 per cent increase to $36.97 billion.

However, Engineering exports to Bangladesh fell 11.8 per cent year-on-year to $153.78 million in July 2024, as against $174.35 million in the year-ago month. The value of engineering exports to Russia declined 26.8 per cent in July this year to $90.39 million from $123.55 million in the same month last year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25034.20, up by 211.05 points or 0.85% after trading in a range of 24874.70 and 25043.80. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 2.30%, Wipro up by 2.26%, TCS up by 1.88%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.84% and LTIMindtree up by 1.67%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 0.48%, Grasim Industries down by 0.31%, BPCL down by 0.27%, Eicher Motors down by 0.23% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.19% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Shanghai Composite weakened 2.03 points or 0.07% to 2,852.34, Straits Times fell 2.49 points or 0.07% to 3,385.50, KOSPI dropped 6.46 points or 0.24% to 2,695.23 and Nikkei 225 slipped 338.32 points or 0.88% to 38,025.95.

On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted added 96.95 points or 0.44% to 22,255.00, Hang Seng advanced 143.99 points or 0.81% to 17,756.09 and Jakarta Composite gained 41.3 points or 0.55% to 7,585.60.