Indian markets remain under grip of bulls

Indian equity benchmarks remained under a grip of bulls in late afternoon deals, aided by heavy buying at Healthcare and Utilities counters, despite negative cues from European markets. Sentiments remained optimistic, amid a private report stating that revenue collections of states, as percentage of their gross domestic product, are budgeted to beat the pre-Covid level in 2024-25 on the back of projected improvement in their own revenue streams as well as central transfers. Adding more relief, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas in its latest notification has said that government has been taking various steps to ensure fair and reasonable prices for consumers. Domestically, Petrol and Diesel prices have come down from Rs 110.04 and Rs 98.42 per litre in November 2021 to Rs 94.77 and Rs 87.67 per litre respectively (as on November 18, 2024, Delhi prices) as a result of reduction of Central Excise duty by the Central Government by a total of Rs 13/litre and Rs 16/litre on petrol and diesel respectively in two tranches in November 2021 and May 2022, which was fully passed on to consumers.  

On the global front, European markets were trading lower, after Germany's retail sales declined more than expected in October on falling non-food retail trade. The data released by Destatis showed that retail sales decreased by real 1.5 percent month-on-month in October, sharper-than-expected fall of 0.5 percent. Sales in food stores edged up 0.1 percent on month, while non-food sales fell 2.2 percent in October. Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as Japan's industrial production and retail sales registered weaker-than-expected growth in November and core inflation in the capital came in above the 2 percent target, boosting expectations for an interest rate hike in the near-term.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79812.25, up by 768.51 points or 0.97% after trading in a range of 79026.18 and 79848.76. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index surged by 0.42%, while Small cap index was up by 0.57%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.99%, Utilities up by 1.90%, Telecom up by 1.65%, Oil & Gas up by 1.32% and Energy up by 1.26%, while Realty down by 0.19% was the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 4.20%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 3.85%, Sun Pharma up by 2.83%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.44% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.74%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.26%, HDFC Bank down by 0.07% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.05% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that there should be strict action against those selling spurious seeds, fertilisers and pesticides to protect farmers' interests. He said farmers of the country should be ensured to get good quality fertilisers, seeds and pesticides under all circumstances. He pointed out that farmers often complain about receiving poor-quality inputs, resulting in significant losses. He stressed that as a responsible public representative, it is imperative to address these concerns. 

The minister said in many states prosecution action is not effective against such guilty people and they are left free. He said he will soon talk to the state governments about this so that effective action is taken continuously at the state level. If anyone is found guilty, they should be punished severely so that such heinous acts can stop. He wanted the strictest action in this regard to protect the interest of common farmers of the country.

In view of the upcoming crop season, he said farmers should get relief in this regard. He said he will soon discuss with the chief ministers and ministers of the states because mainly effective measures are taken at the state level only. In the case of substandard fertilisers, seeds and pesticides, strict action should be taken against big sellers and manufacturers and existing laws, rules and procedures should be used effectively. He also added that all concerned departments should jointly run a campaign to ensure good quality of pesticides and fertilisers.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24155.85, up by 241.70 points or 1.01% after trading in a range of 23927.15 and 24161.40. There were 43 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 4.26%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 3.86%, Cipla up by 3.30%, Adani Enterprises up by 3.29% and Sun Pharma up by 2.93%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.20%, SBI Life Insurance down by 0.96%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.53%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.19% and Shriram Finance down by 0.09% were the top losers.

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 8.05 points or 0.1% to 8,273.17, France’s CAC fell 11.81 points or 0.16% to 7,167.44 and Germany’s DAX lost 17.16 points or 0.09% to 19,408.57. 

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Jakarta Composite plunged 81.6 points or 1.13% to 7,118.56, Straits Times fell 3.36 points or 0.09% to 3,733.89, KOSPI dropped 48.76 points or 1.99% to 2,455.91, Nikkei 225 slipped 141.03 points or 0.37% to 38,208.03 and Taiwan Weighted lost 36.4 points or 0.16% to 22,262.50, while Hang Seng advanced 56.65 points or 0.29% to 19,423.61 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 30.76 points or 0.92% to 3,326.46.