Sensex, Nifty trade higher with decent gains in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made positive start on Tuesday tracking gains in global peers. Sensex and Nifty are trading higher with decent gains in early deals with gains in PSU and Banking stocks. Traders took encouragement after Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said second quarter GDP growth at 5.4 per cent is lower than the potential but exuded confidence that the second half to be better. He added several high-frequency indicators in the month of October are pointing towards that. Some support also came as rating agency ICRA said it expects sequential revenue growth for India Inc in the December quarter, led by improved rural demand and uptick in government spending, additionally supported by the festival season. 

On the global front, all the Asian markets are trading higher as traders remain optimistic about an interest rate cut by the US Fed in December after remarks from Fed Governor Christopher Waller that he is 'leaning toward' a December rate cut. Back home, stocks of beverages and tobacco related items are in focus as the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate rationalisation, led by Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Samrat Chaudhary, recommended a new slab of 35 per cent for tobacco, tobacco products and aerated drinks. At present, such products are taxed at 28 per cent. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 80467.90, up by 219.82 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 80244.78 and 80549.06. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.61%, while Small cap index was up by 0.94%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 0.92%, Bankex up by 0.80%, IT up by 0.71%, Basic Materials up by 0.69% and Metal up by 0.62%, while FMCG down by 0.84% and Consumer Durables down by 0.01% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 3.63%, SBI up by 1.71%, HCL Technologies up by 1.25%, Indusind Bank up by 1.12% and HDFC Bank up by 1.08%. On the flip side, ITC down by 2.11%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.12%, Sun Pharma down by 0.74%, Power Grid down by 0.73% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.50% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over India’s growth prospects, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran has said that India's potential Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is in the range of 6.5-7 per cent and the country should be able to achieve it on the back of things that done already in the last 10 years, whether it is in terms of augmenting the physical infrastructure or achieving financial inclusion. The Economic Survey projected India's GDP to grow at 6.5-7 per cent in 2024-25, down from a high of 8.2 per cent in the preceding financial year.

Emphasising the investment areas, he said ‘We all know about the issue of intermittency. The investment shouldn't focus on setting up solar power plants or wind energy plants as we need to take into consideration the increasing cost of recycling solar panel waste and wind turbine waste. That is an area to invest in.’ He said the other areas to invest in is the area of grid capabilities and technologies which will be able to withstand the intermittency of supplies from these renewable energy sources.

With 45 years remaining for India to meet its commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, he said about the complex challenge of balancing robust economic growth with the urgent need for environmental sustainability. He also shared the current strategies and steps and urged for a collaborative approach.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24328.40, up by 52.35 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 24280.00 and 24377.90. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 3.62%, Shriram Finance up by 3.23%, SBI up by 1.68%, HDFC Bank up by 1.09% and ONGC up by 1.07%. On the flip side, ITC down by 2.04%, Trent down by 1.35%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.10%, Sun Pharma down by 0.82% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.75% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 847.21 points or 2.2% to 39,360.23, Taiwan Weighted jumped 359.41 points or 1.58% to 23,096.34, Jakarta Composite rose 89.1 points or 1.26% to 7,136.09, Hang Seng advanced 71.04 points or 0.36% to 19,621.33, KOSPI increased 43.69 points or 1.78% to 2,498.17, Straits Times added 36.89 points or 0.98% to 3,788.24 and Shanghai Composite was up by 6.76 points or 0.2% to 3,370.74.