Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity markets held their gains till the end of the session and settled with gains of over half a percent on Tuesday aided by positive cues from other Asian markets. Traders were expecting that RBI is likely to maintain the current benchmark interest rate due to high inflation exceeding the set limit. This decision will be announced on December 6, 2024. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index ended with hefty gains.

Markets made positive start and extended their gains following positive cues from global peers. 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. Traders overlooked a private report that the recent decline in corporate earnings is likely to cast a shadow on the government’s direct-tax receipts and its fiscal position. Tax payment by listed companies was down 7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in Q2FY25, their worst showing in the last four years and the first decline in corporate tax in seven quarters. In afternoon session, indices continued to trade higher as sentiments remained positive as India scrapped the 30-month old windfall profit tax on domestically-produced crude oil and on export of jet fuel (ATF), diesel and petrol following a decline in international oil prices. Markets touched their day’s high levels in late afternoon session as investors continued to hunt for fundamentally strong stocks. Finally, Nifty and Sensex settled above the psychological 24,450 and 80,800 levels respectively.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher with investors keeping an eye on political upheaval in France. All Asian markets ended higher as new U.S. curbs on semiconductor exports to China proved to be less harsh than previously expected. Back home, government data has showed that India's power consumption rose 5.14 per cent to 125.44 billion units (BU) in November 2024 as compared to the year-ago month. In November 2023, power consumption was 119.30 GW.

The BSE Sensex ended at 80,845.75, up by 597.67 points or 0.74% after trading in a range of 80,244.78 and 80,949.10. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.92%, while Small cap index was up by 1.03%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 1.51%, Utilities up by 1.41%, Industrials up by 1.36%, Capital Goods up by 1.23% and Power was up by 1.20%, while FMCG down by 0.31% and Telecom was down by 0.05% were the only losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports up by 5.92%, NTPC up by 2.60%, Axis Bank up by 2.18%, SBI up by 1.99% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.82%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.37%, ITC down by 1.00%, Sun Pharma down by 0.39%, Asian Paints down by 0.37% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.26% were the top losers. (Provisional)

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 ended at 24,457.15, up by 181.10 points or 0.75% after trading in a range of 24,280.00 and 24,481.35. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports up by 5.99%, NTPC up by 2.58%, Adani Enterprises up by 2.33%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.24% and SBI up by 2.10%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.40%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.08%, ITC down by 0.97%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.97% and Sun Pharma down by 0.47% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 52.89 points or 0.63% to 8,365.78, France’s CAC rose 40.9 points or 0.56% to 7,277.79 and Germany’s DAX was up by 49.87 points or 0.25% to 19,983.49.

Asian markets settled higher on Tuesday after technology shares pulled Wall Street to another record finish ahead of a slew of US economic data due this week. Market sentiments were also supported by expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut later this month. Seoul shares gained as new US curbs on semiconductor exports to China proved to be less harsh than previously expected, while Japanese shares rallied with optimism that Japan-made chip products will be exempted from new US curbs on exports to China.