Benchmarks end higher on Wednesday

Indian equity benchmarks ended higher on Wednesday driven by a sharp rally in Adani group stocks and fresh foreign fund inflows. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,157.70 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. After making a slightly positive start, key gauges traded with volatility in first half of trading session as investors avoided to take any long positions ahead of GDP numbers to be out later in the week. Some cautiousness came in with report that after running surplus liquidity of about Rs 1.4 lakh crore for over two months, the banking system saw a decline in cash, prompting the Reserve Bank of India to inject Rs 6,956 crore on November 25.

However, markets exhibited a positive upside in second half of trading session to end higher as traders took support with the Finance Ministry’s latest monthly economic review stating that the upcoming administration in US after the win of Donald Trump in the latest elections is set to play an important role in trade dynamics globally. The report noted that global economic factors, including shifts in interest rates, earnings growth, and geopolitical developments, will significantly influence trade and capital flows. Some optimism also came amid reports that India's Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection for November 2024 is expected to surpass Rs 1.87 lakh crore, recorded in October, making it the second-highest monthly collection ever. The anticipated growth in GST revenue is attributed to robust domestic sales during the festive season. Besides, the government is working on an integrated platform for the insolvency ecosystem covering key stakeholders that will also help speed up resolution processes. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which came into force in 2016, aims to provide market-linked and time-bound resolution of stressed assets. However, there have been delays in the resolution process. 

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in red as investors fretted about potential inflationary pressures arising from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariff policies. It is feared that Trump's economic plans, particularly tax cuts and tariffs, could have a substantial impact on the Federal Reserve's plans to lower interest rates. Asian markets ended mixed on Wednesday as official data showed China's industrial profits fell again in October but less sharply than in September. Back home, on the sectoral front, there were some reactions in telecom stocks with a private report that India is projected to have 270 million 5G subscribers by the end of 2024, making up 23 per cent of the country’s mobile subscriptions. This represents a significant rise from the 110-120 million 5G users recorded in 2023. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 230.02 points or 0.29% to 80,234.08, and the CNX Nifty was up by 80.40 points or 0.33% to 24,274.90.      

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 80,511.15 and 79,844.49 respectively. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.34%, while Small cap index was up by 1.18%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 3.11%, Power up by 2.74%, Industrials up by 1.35%, Telecom up by 1.17% and Capital Goods up by 1.13%, while Realty down by 0.40% and Healthcare down by 0.28% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 6.29%, NTPC up by 2.09%, HDFC Bank up by 1.43%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.28% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.24%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 0.77%, Indusind Bank down by 0.73%, SBI down by 0.61%, Sun Pharma down by 0.59% and Asian Paints down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government is working on an integrated platform for the insolvency ecosystem covering key stakeholders that will also help speed up resolution processes. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which came into force in 2016, aims to provide market-linked and time-bound resolution of stressed assets. However, there have been delays in the resolution process.

Anita Shah Akella, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), has emphasised that IBC is not a recovery mechanism but a rescue mechanism. While mentioning various steps taken and also being planned to further improve IBC resolutions, she said the ministry is working on having an integrated platform for the insolvency ecosystem. She noted ‘(It will be a) federated architecture that will push and pull data as and when required’.

The platform will connect MCA, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) and insolvency professionals, among others. It will have various features such as red flags in case of delays and alerts on the app. 

As per official data, a total of 1,963 CIRP (Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process) cases are ongoing and out of them, 1,388 have exceeded the time limit of 270 days. The data shared by the ministry with the Lok Sabha showed creditors have recovered around Rs 3.55 lakh crore through resolution of 1,068 cases under the insolvency law till September this year.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 24,354.55 and 24,145.65. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 11.56%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 5.90%, Bharat Electronics up by 3.07%, Trent up by 2.80% and NTPC up by 2.24%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 1.34%, Titan Company down by 1.07%, Wipro down by 0.87%, Shriram Finance down by 0.83% and Hindalco Industries down by 0.72% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC fell 85.83 points or 1.19% to 7,108.68 and Germany’s DAX lost 108.75 points or 0.56% to 19,187.23, while UK’s FTSE 100 increased 11.1 points or 0.13% to 8,269.71.

Asian markets ended mixed on Wednesday amid tariff worries as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump picked another China sceptic, Jamieson Greer, to serve as the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and appointed Kevin A Hassett as the director of the White House National Economic Council, key figures in implanting the new administration's economic agenda. Jamieson played a key role during Trump's first term in imposing tariffs on China and others to combat unfair trade practices and replacing the failed NAFTA deal with USMCA. Hassett played a crucial role in helping design and pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Japanese markets retreated as a stronger yen weighed on automotive stocks such as Honda Motor, Toyota and Nissan, which fell 3-5 percent. China's Shanghai Composite index rallied after data showed industrial profit decline eased to 10 percent year-on-year in October from 27.1 percent the previous month.