Key gauges extend gains in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks extended gains in morning deals, led by gains in Power, Utilities and Capital Goods stocks. Traders took support with Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s statement that with global oil prices flaring due to widening conflict in the Middle East, India is watching the situation carefully and is confident of navigating any challenges it may pose. Traders also took a note of domestic rating agency ICRA estimated that loan securitisation volumes of standard assets touched Rs. 60,000 crore in the September quarter. Securitisation grew 36% sequentially and 31% on year basis. It noted that the sharp increase in the quarterly volumes has been fuelled by large private sector banks selling down their portfolio to improve their credit-to-deposit ratio, given the relatively lower pace of deposit accretion being witnessed. Traders overlooked exchange data showed Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 8,293.41 crore on Monday. Investors also stayed on the sidelines ahead of local quarterly earnings reports and the Reserve Bank of India rate decision.  

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed tracking overnight weakness in Wall Street as strength in the U.S. job market drove bets that interest rates will remain relatively high. Chinese markets vastly outperformed their peers, rising sharply as trade resumed after a week and as investors reacted to a barrage of stimulus measures from Beijing. Back home, on the sectoral front, Cement industry stocks remained in focus with private report that the cement demand in September remained below the market expectations due to heavy monsoons and region-specific challenges which impacted both trade and non-trade demand.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81407.13, up by 357.13 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 80813.07 and 81421.04. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.94%, while Small cap index was up by 1.15%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.82%, Utilities up by 1.59%, Capital Goods up by 1.57%, PSU up by 1.57% and Industrials up by 1.50%, while Metal down by 0.66%, IT down by 0.42%, TECK down by 0.23% and Realty down by 0.19% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports &SEZ up by 2.44%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.18%, NTPC up by 1.90%, SBI up by 1.55% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.54%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 2.43%, JSW Steel down by 2.10%, Tata Motors down by 1.91%, TCS down by 1.09% and Titan Company down by 0.96% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, ICRA in its latest report has said that Alcoholic beverages (alcobev) companies in India are expected to report a revenue growth of 8 to 10 per cent in this financial year supported by a revival in consumption of spirits. The growth in the topline will also be helped by the premiumisation trend.

Moreover, it said ‘revenue increase in FY2025 will additionally be supported by the price hikes granted by a few state governments in the current fiscal.’ Further, it said operating profit margin (OPM) is expected to remain stable at 12-13 per cent in FY2025 due to decline in packaging material cost, despite increase in grain prices in H1 FY2025.

Besides, it mentioned, during Q1 FY2025, the spirits industry reported a 9 per cent year-on-year increase in revenues, supported by 5-7 per cent improvement in realisations, while volumes grew by 2-4 per cent. Even the beer industry witnessed a higher revenue growth of 12 per cent in Q1 FY2025 owing to 3-5 per cent increase in volumes and 7-9 per cent in realisations.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24918.60, up by 122.85 points or 0.50% after trading in a range of 24756.80 and 24923.50. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Trent up by 3.01%, Bharat Electronics up by 2.90%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 2.56%, NTPC up by 1.84% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.82%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 2.41%, JSW Steel down by 1.94%, Tata Motors down by 1.77%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.57% and Titan Company down by 1.12% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 slipped 407.48 points or 1.04% to 38,925.26, Taiwan Weighted lost 105.44 points or 0.46% to 22,597.12, Hang Seng declined 1289.78 points or 5.91% to 21,810.00 and KOSPI dropped 10.80 points or 0.41% to 2,599.58.

On the flip side, Straits Times rose 0.06 points or 0% to 3,599.25, Jakarta Composite gained 22.94 points or 0.31% to 7,527.08 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 160.32 points or 4.58% to 3,496.82.