Late hour of buying helps indices close in green territory

Indian equity benchmarks ended in green territory on Wednesday as fag-end buying in Utilities, Power and Realty shares helped markets recoup early losses. After a negative start, the markets witnessed rangebound movement throughout the session, amid foreign fund outflows. As per NSE data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) were net sellers of Indian equities worth Rs 2,784.14 crore. Some anxiety also came as global rating agency S&P stated that India’s private sector will have to shoulder more investment responsibility for the country’s growth because India’s fiscal settings are constrained and the government might not be able to provide as much financial support as before. Traders remained on sidelines ahead of F&O monthly expiry on Thursday. 

But, a sudden spurt in the last hour of the trading session propelled the indices to end the session with gains. Traders took support as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) retained India's growth forecast for the current fiscal at 7 per cent and said that the economy is expected to accelerate in the coming quarters on improved farm output, and higher Government spending. Some optimism also came as Moody’s Analytics in its new Asia Pacific outlook noted that the Indian economy will likely grow faster at 7.1% in 2024 from 6.8% projected earlier. While the research firm kept the country’s growth forecast unchanged at 6.5 percent for 2025, it projected a faster growth of 6.6% in 2026. Traders also took a note of reports that India surpassed Japan to become the third-largest power in the Asia Power Index, reflecting its increasing geopolitical stature. This achievement is driven by India's dynamic growth, youthful population, and expanding economy, solidifying its position as a leading force in the region.  

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in red as investors reassessed the ability of China's stimulus to boost demand. Asian markets ended mixed on Wednesday even as Chinese and Hong Kong markets posted strong gains to extend the previous session's rally after China's central bank slashed its medium-term lending facility from 2.3 percent to 2.0 percent, marking the largest reduction of interest rates for one-year loans to financial institutions in history. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 255.83 points or 0.30% to 85,169.87, and the CNX Nifty was up by 63.75 points or 0.25% to 26,004.15.     

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 85,247.42 and 84,743.04 respectively. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index. 

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.53%, while Small cap index was down by 0.35%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.99%, Power up by 0.87%, Realty up by 0.71%, Metal up by 0.40% and Bankex up by 0.34%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.67%, IT down by 0.59%, FMCG down by 0.47%, Consumer Discretionary down by 0.34% and Industrials down by 0.32% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid Corporation up by 3.91%, Axis Bank up by 2.18%, NTPC up by 1.94%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.10% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.91%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.21%, Tata Motors down by 1.39%, Titan Company down by 0.93%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.92% and SBI down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, domestic rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that the slower deposit growth will push banks to mop-up up to Rs 1.3 lakh crore from bond issuances in FY25. The bond issuances, coming amidst a continuing wedge between deposit and credit growth, will come between Rs 1.2-1.3 lakh crore and will be the highest ever for the system. It said nearly 85 per cent of the bond issuances will be by public sector banks and added that the higher appetite for infra bonds among such lenders will drive the market.

According to the report, tight liquidity conditions and credit growth continuously surpassing deposit growth has necessitated fundraising by banks from alternate sources. Banks had raised Rs 1 lakh crore from the bond issuances avenue in FY24, while the previous all-time high was reached in FY23 at Rs 1.1 lakh crore. With the mid-fiscal year mark approaching, it said banks have already raised Rs 76,700 crore from bonds till now, which is an over 225 per cent growth over the resources mobilised during the same period in FY24. 

The report said as private banks are focusing on reducing their credit-to-deposit ratio, fundraising through bonds is largely being dominated by public banks this year. Infra-bond issuances have seen higher volumes due to the government of India's focus on infrastructure spending, availability of a sizable infrastructure loan book that is eligible to be funded through this instrument and strong demand from insurance companies and provident funds for long-term issuances.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 26,032.80 and 25,871.35. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid Corporation up by 4.04%, Axis Bank up by 2.39%, NTPC up by 2.02%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.59% and Grasim Industries up by 1.55%. On the flip side, LTIMindtree down by 3.69%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.27%, Tata Consumer Products down by 1.87%, Tata Motors down by 1.36% and Titan Company down by 1.13% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC fell 24.03 points or 0.32% to 7,579.98 and Germany’s DAX lost 76.48 points or 0.4% to 18,920.15, while UK’s FTSE 100 increased 23.54 points or 0.28% to 8,306.30.

Asian markets ended mixed on Wednesday amid increased expectations of another super-sized interest rate cut at the US Federal Reserve's November meeting. Chinese and Hong Kong shares gained by new measures from China's central bank - PBoC. The PBoC has slashed its medium term lending facility from 2.3% to 2%, marking the largest reduction of interest rates for one-year loans to financial institutions in history. Meanwhile, Seoul shares declined sharply as investors were disappointed with a new stock index to be launched next week. Japanese markets fell, even after the Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated that the central bank has time to evaluate market and economic conditions before making any policy adjustments and signalling that there is no urgency to raise interest rates again.