Domestic indices maintain gains in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices maintained their gains in late morning deals on account of buying by funds and retail investors. Hectic buying in Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, HCL and ITC companies’ stocks helped the markets to maintain their gains.  Falling crude oil prices and rising investments by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) in markets supported sentiments. Some support came in as the RBI said India’s forex reserves jumped by $7.023 billion to touch a new high of $681.688 billion in the week ended August 23. Traders took note of report that the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said India has recorded trade surplus with as many as 151 countries such as the US and Netherlands, while the country has a trade deficit with 75 nations including China and Russia during the first half of this year. It said India does not need to worry about the trade deficit from importing crude oil and coal, however, it must focus on reducing the industrial goods imports, especially from countries like China, as these threaten India's economic sovereignty.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed after China released its official PMI data for August. The manufacturing PMI fell to a six month low of 49.1, a faster contraction compared to the 49.4 seen in July. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in FMCG, Energy, Oil & Gas, IT and Bankex, while selling was witnessed in Telecom, Metal, Consumer Durables, Industrials and Auto. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82659.53, up by 293.76 points or 0.36% after trading in a range of 82499.73 and 82725.28. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.01%, while Small cap index down by 0.25%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.79%, Energy up by 0.52%, Oil & Gas up by 0.46%, IT up by 0.34% and Bankex up by 0.15%, while Telecom down by 1.63%, Metal down by 0.64%, Consumer Durables down by 0.52%, Industrials down by 0.44% and Auto down by 0.39% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 4.07%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.01%, HCL up by 2.28%, ITC up by 1.79% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.16%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.59%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.15%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.70%, NTPC down by 0.42% and TCS down by 0.19% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry in its latest data has showed that the output of eight core industries slowed down to 6.1 per cent in July 2024 from 8.5 percent in the same period last year due to a decline in the output of crude oil and natural gas. However, the growth rate is up from 5.1 per cent in June 2024. The Eight Core Industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity - comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Coal production having 10.33 per cent weight increased by 6.8 per cent in July, 2024 over July, 2023, and its cumulative index increased by 9.9 per cent during April to July, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Electricity generation having 19.85 per cent weight increased by 7.0 per cent in July, 2024 over July, 2023 and its cumulative index increased by 9.9 per cent during April to July, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Steel production having 17.92 per cent weight increased by 7.2 per cent in July, 2024 over July, 2023 and its cumulative index increased by 7.6 per cent during April to July, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. 

Cement production having 5.37 per cent weight increased by 5.5 per cent in July, 2024 over July, 2023 and its cumulative index increased by 1.6 per cent during April to July, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Fertilizer production having 2.63 per cent weight increased by 5.3 per cent in July, 2024 over July, 2023 and its cumulative index increased by 1.3 per cent during April to July, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. Petroleum Refinery production having 28.04 per cent weight increased by 6.6 per cent in July, 2024 over July, 2023 and its cumulative index increased by 2.3 per cent during April to July, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year. 

However, Crude Oil production having 8.98 per cent weight declined by 2.9 per cent in July, 2024 over July, 2023 and its cumulative index declined by 1.3 per cent during April to July, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year.  Natural Gas production having 6.88 per cent weight declined by 1.3 per cent in July, 2024 over July, 2023, while its cumulative index increased by 4.3 per cent during April to July, 2024-25 over corresponding period of the previous year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25310.15, up by 74.25 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 25281.65 and 25333.65. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finserv up by 4.14%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.17%, HCL up by 2.27%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.94% and ITC up by 1.78%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.84%, Hindalco down by 1.80%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.70%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.29% and Wipro down by 1.01% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Jakarta Composite gained 33.29 points or 0.43% to 7,704.02, Straits Times rose 19.67 points or 0.57% to 3,462.60, KOSPI increased 10.28 points or 0.38% to 2,684.59 and Nikkei 225 surged 58.71 points or 0.15% to 38,706.46. However, Hang Seng declined 271.77 points or 1.51% to 17,717.30, Shanghai Composite weakened 15.1 points or 0.53% to 2,827.11 and Taiwan Weighted lost 32.99 points or 0.15% to 22,235.10.