Benchmarks continue to trade lower in late morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in late morning deals, due to selling in Realty and Auto shares amid unabated foreign fund outflows. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,435.94 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Traders took a note of report that Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has stressed the need to manufacture high-quality products, saying without this approach it is going to be very difficult to make India truly competitive. Traders overlooked the government data showed India’s trade deficit narrowed to a five-month low of $20.8 billion in September from $29.7 billion a month back, as merchandise export growth turned positive for the first time in three months. India’s merchandise exports in September slightly rose to $34.58 billion against $34.41 billion a year ago. Imports increased by 1.6 per cent to $55.36 billion in September compared to $54.49 billion in the year-ago period. Sector-wise, renewable energy industry stocks remained in focus after a report by CRISIL stated that India’s renewable energy capacity is expected to grow at twice the rate of the country’s overall energy capacity growth. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green following a positive streak in US markets and a drop in global inflation pressures.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81245.90, down by 255.46 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 81100.03 and 81781.40. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.81%, while Small cap index was down by 0.42%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.69% and TECK up by 0.31%, while Realty down by 2.70%, Auto down by 2.69%, Consumer discretionary down by 1.69%, Telecom down by 0.92% and Bankex down by 0.65% were the top losing indices on BSE

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 1.11%, Infosys up by 1.06%, SBI up by 0.85%, Reliance Industries up by 0.74% and Power Grid Corporation up by 0.67%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.88%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.73%, HDFC Bank down by 1.31%, Axis Bank down by 1.24% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.97% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, CRISIL in its latest report has said that India’s renewable energy capacity is likely to grow at twice the rate of the country’s overall energy capacity growth. The report noted that by fiscal 2030, India’s renewable energy (RE) capacity, excluding large hydro projects, is projected to reach 360-370 GW, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.5 per cent-17 per cent. This growth will be driven by favourable government policies, competitive tariffs, and the development of solar parks and green energy corridors.

It stated while the overall power capacity of the country will grow by 7.5 per cent-8 per cent from the installed capacity of 442 GW as of March 2024. The total installed power generation capacity in India was 442 GW at the end of March 2024, with renewable energy accounting for nearly 191 GW, including large hydroelectric projects. As per the report the country is expected to add around 175-180 GW of solar capacity between fiscal years 2025 and 2030. Solar energy has been the key driver of this growth, with solar capacity reaching 82 GW by 2024, up from just 0.9 GW in 2012.

It also mentioned that India’s peak electricity demand has surged, growing from 164 GW in fiscal 2018 to 243 GW in fiscal 2024, reflecting an average growth rate of 6.8 per cent. Although the generation sector faced challenges in meeting this demand during fiscal 2023, resulting in a peak deficit of 4.2 per cent, but the report added that supply improved in fiscal 2024, reducing the deficit to mere 1.4 per cent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24846.45, down by 124.85 points or 0.50% after trading in a range of 24797.40 and 25029.50. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 1.24%, Infosys up by 1.08%, SBI up by 0.96%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.92% and Wipro up by 0.80%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 10.42%, Hero MotoCorp down by 3.93%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.81%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.88% and BPCL down by 1.54% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 109.25 points or 0.47% to 23,120.23, Hang Seng advanced 138.91 points or 0.68% to 20,425.76, Straits Times rose 31.4 points or 0.87% to 3,622.02, Jakarta Composite gained 74.31 points or 0.96% to 7,723.25 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 2.1 points or 0.07% to 3,205.05.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 slipped 178.9 points or 0.46% to 39,001.40 and KOSPI dropped 3.68 points or 0.14% to 2,606.68.