Indian markets off day’s lows in early noon deals

Indian equity markets staged some recovery in early afternoon deals to come off their intraday low points, aided by heavy buying at Realty and Consumer Durables counters, despite mixed cues from other Asian markets. Traders got some relief, after the retirement fund body, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in its latest ‘Provisional payroll data’ report has showed that 18.81 lakh net members have been added in the month of September 2024, a 9.33% year-on-year growth as compared to September 2023, signifying increased employment opportunities and heightened awareness of employee benefits, bolstered by EPFO’s effective outreach initiatives.

Some support also came after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) article on 'State of the Economy' published in the November Bulletin has said that private consumption is back driven by festive spending, and the medium-term economic outlook remains bullish as the innate strength of the macro-fundamentals reasserts itself. It said global economic activity remained resilient during Q4:2024 amidst fragile confidence and rising protectionism. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed, as the People's Bank of China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Wednesday as it monitors the impact of recent policy adjustments. The PBoC maintained its one-year loan prime rate at 3.10 percent. Likewise, the five-year LPR, the benchmark for mortgage rates, was retained at 3.60 percent. The bank had cut its both LPRs by 25 basis points each in October. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77126.82, down by 451.56 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 76802.73 and 77711.11. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell by 0.06%, while Small cap index was down by 0.48%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.32%, Consumer Durables up by 0.33%, Metal up by 0.26%, Healthcare up by 0.04% and IT up by 0.02%, while Utilities down by 3.40%, PSU down by 1.51%, Power down by 1.49%, Energy down by 1.45% and Oil & Gas down by 1.45% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 2.00%, Tata Steel up by 1.11%, Axis Bank up by 1.04%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.89% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.37%. On the flip side, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 16.90%, SBI down by 2.69%, Indusind Bank down by 2.08%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.89% and NTPC down by 1.87% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) article on 'State of the Economy' published in the November Bulletin has said that private consumption is back driven by festive spending, and the medium-term economic outlook remains bullish as the innate strength of the macro-fundamentals reasserts itself. It said global economic activity remained resilient during Q4:2024 amidst fragile confidence and rising protectionism. It said ‘in India, the slack in speed observed in the second quarter of 2024-25 is behind us as private consumption is back to being the driver of domestic demand with festival spending lighting up real activity in Q3’. It also said the medium-term outlook remains bullish as the innate strength of the macro-fundamentals reasserts itself.

The article, prepared by a team led by RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra, further said the Indian economy is exhibiting resilience, underpinned by festival-related consumption, and a recovering agriculture sector. Record production estimates for kharif foodgrains as well as promising rabi crop prospects augur well for farm income and rural demand, going forward. In terms of institutional infrastructure, the adoption of digital crop surveys for accurate production estimation and the introduction of drones are set to bring long-term efficiencies and productivity gains to the sector by enabling the assessment of production conditions on a real-time basis and possibly in proactive supply management.

On the industrial front, it said manufacturing and construction are expected to sustain dynamism. EV adoption, favourable policies, subsidies, and growing infrastructure are positioning India as a leader in sustainable transportation and fostering job creation in emerging clean energy sectors. According to the article, India’s services sector is expected to sustain its growth momentum, robust job creation, and high consumer and business confidence. It further said that despite pressures in the bond and equity markets from global uncertainty and fluctuating foreign portfolio investments, financial conditions are likely to remain accommodative as reflected in corporate bond issuances and FDI inflows. The authors also said private investment is lacklustre as reflected in sequentially lower investment in fixed and noncurrent assets during July-September 2024 on account of subdued corporate earnings.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23352.00, down by 166.50 points or 0.71% after trading in a range of 23263.15 and 23507.30. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 1.95%, Hindalco up by 1.41%, Grasim Industries up by 1.35%, Axis Bank up by 1.16% and Tata Steel up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 19.16%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 16.95%, SBI down by 2.86%, SBI Life Insurance down by 2.75% and Britannia down by 2.36% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 63.34 points or 0.32% to 19,641.67, KOSPI dropped 1.66 points or 0.07% to 2,480.63, Nikkei 225 slipped 326.17 points or 0.86% to 38,026.17 and Taiwan Weighted lost 132.7 points or 0.59% to 22,555.66, while Jakarta Composite gained 6.46 points or 0.09% to 7,186.80, Shanghai Composite strengthened 1.19 points or 0.04% to 3,369.18 and Straits Times rose 1.66 points or 0.04% to 3,745.30.