Indian markets off day’s highs in early noon

Trimming some of their gains, Indian equity benchmarks came off their intraday high points, but managed to remain above their neutral lines, aided by heavy buying at IT and TECK counters, despite mixed cues from other Asian markets.  Domestic sentiments were positive, as Union Finance and Corporate Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) will get collateral-free loans of upto Rs 100 crore through a new credit assessment model by PSU banks. Besides, the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2025 edition highlights India's impressive upward trajectory in higher education across the continent. India boasts two institutions within the top 50 and seven in the top 100 of the QS Asia Rankings 2025, with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) leading at 44th place.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, as Malaysia's industrial production posted a slower growth in September. The figures from the Department of Statistics showed that industrial production increased 2.3 percent year-on-year in September, following a growth of 4.1 percent in the previous month. Manufacturing and electricity output registered weaker growth and mining logged another fall albeit at a slower pace.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79802.48, up by 316.16 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 79001.34 and 80102.14. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell by 0.35%, while Small cap index was down by 0.58%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.29%, TECK up by 1.13%, Bankex up by 0.91%, PSU up by 0.83% and Power up by 0.82%, while Healthcare down by 1.10%, Basic Materials down by 0.89%, Metal down by 0.76%, Energy down by 0.39% and Oil & Gas down by 0.35% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 4.11%, Tata Motors up by 1.90%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.69%, Infosys up by 1.55% and TCS up by 1.51%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 7.98%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.85%, Tata Steel down by 1.36%, JSW Steel down by 1.33% and Bajaj Finance down by 1.26% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over the country’s economic growth prospects, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said India’s growth story will take the economy from $3.5 trillion now to $35 trillion in the next 25 years. He said ‘This 10-fold growth is due to India's strong economic fundamentals. We are the fastest-growing economy. Low inflation, strong foreign exchange reserves and a welcoming environment for the investors have brought twice the FDI to India in the last 10 years compared to the earlier decade’.

He said that the 21st century belongs to India and it was on track to become the third largest world economy in three years. He added ‘We are working with a focused approach to make India a developed and prosperous nation by 2047 when we celebrate 100 years of Independence’. He said the country moved from the ‘fragile five’ economies in 2014, when the BJP-led NDA came to power at the Centre. 

He also said large parts of the world had written India off, and people did not have the confidence that it could grow and play a role in global economics. He further said India has an environment conducive to investment, and there is a focus on ease of doing business, reducing compliances, and decriminalisation of several laws which were detrimental to the business-friendly environment. He said ‘India today is seen as a trusted and reliable partner in a global supply chain’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24229.00, up by 80.80 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 24004.60 and 24336.80. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 4.19%, Trent up by 3.34%, Tata Motors up by 1.91%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.80% and Wipro up by 1.69%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 8.00%, Apollo Hospital down by 3.51%, Cipla down by 2.58%, Britannia down by 1.81% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.76% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 289.71 points or 1.4% to 20,438.48, Jakarta Composite plunged 29.2 points or 0.4% to 7,257.99, KOSPI dropped 29.49 points or 1.16% to 2,531.66 and Taiwan Weighted lost 24.25 points or 0.1% to 23,529.64, while Shanghai Composite strengthened 12.68 points or 0.37% to 3,464.98, Straits Times rose 3.45 points or 0.09% to 3,727.82 and Nikkei 225 surged 32.95 points or 0.08% to 39,533.32.