Sharp recovery witness over Dalal Street in early noon deals

A sharp recovery witnessed over the Dalal Street during early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty holding their heads near neutral lines, aided by buying in TECK and Telecom stocks, despite negative cues from other Asian markets. Traders got relief, as Ministry of Commerce & Industry in its latest release has showed that India has achieved a remarkable milestone in its economic journey, with gross foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows reaching an impressive $1 trillion since April 2000, bolstered by a nearly 26% rise in FDI to $42.1 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year (H1 FY25) as against $33.5 billion in H1 FY24. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as industrial production in Japan increased less than initially estimated in October. The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry said that industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 2.8 percent month-on-month in October, faster than the 1.6 percent rebound in September. In the flash report, the rate of growth was 3.0 percent. On a yearly basis, industrial production recovered 1.4 percent from a 2.6 percent fall a month ago.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81280.36, down by 9.60 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 80082.82 and 81551.72. There were 15 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell by 0.79%, while Small cap index was down by 0.87%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were TECK up by 0.69%, Telecom up by 0.66%, IT up by 0.10% and Consumer Durables up by 0.05%, while Metal down by 1.77%, Realty down by 1.55%, Basic Materials down by 0.95%, PSU down by 0.82% and Healthcare down by 0.75% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 3.47%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.25%, HCL Tech. up by 1.10%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.04% and Power Grid up by 0.70%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 2.32%, JSW Steel down by 2.12%, Indusind Bank down by 1.84%, Axis Bank down by 1.51% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.99% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the finance ministry has said that gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of public sector banks (PSBs) have declined to a decade low of 3.12 per cent at the end of September 2024 from a peak of 14.98 per cent in March 2018 on the back of measures like the 4Rs -- recognition, recapitalisation, resolution, and reform -- taken by the government. Since 2015, the government implemented a comprehensive 4Rs strategy of recognising NPAs transparently, resolution and recovery, recapitalising PSBs, and reforms in the financial system to address the challenges faced by PSBs.

It said capital adequacy ratio of PSBs improved 393 bps to reach 15.43 per cent in September 2024 from 11.45 per cent in March 2015. During 2023-24, PSBs recorded the highest-ever aggregate net profit of Rs 1.41 lakh crore against Rs 1.05 lakh crore in 2022-23. The figure was Rs 0.86 lakh crore in the first half of 2024-25. In the last three years, PSBs have paid total dividend of Rs 61,964 crore. PSBs continue to expand their reach to every nook and corner of the country to deepen financial inclusion. Their capital base has strengthened and their asset quality has improved. Now they are able to go to market and access capital instead of depending on the government for recepitalisation. 

It further said to deepen financial inclusion in the country, 54 crore Jan Dhan accounts and more than 52 crore collateral-free loans under various flagship financial inclusion schemes -- PM-Mudra, Stand-Up India, PM-SVANidhi, PM Vishwakarma -- have been sanctioned. Under the Mudra scheme, 68 per cent of beneficiaries are women and under PM-SVANidhi scheme, 44 per cent of beneficiaries are women. The number of bank branches has gone up from 1,17,990 in March 2014 to 1,60,501 in September 2024. Of 1,60,501 branches, 1,00,686 are in rural and semi-urban (RUSU) areas.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24549.10, up by 0.40 points after trading in a range of 24180.80 and 24615.55. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 3.24%, HCL Tech. up by 1.30%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.08%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.00% and Power Grid up by 0.85%. On the flip side, Shriram Finance down by 3.30%, Tata Steel down by 2.32%, JSW Steel down by 1.99%, Indusind Bank down by 1.82% and Hindalco down by 1.46% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 355.43 points or 1.74% to 20,041.62, Jakarta Composite plunged 27.09 points or 0.37% to 7,367.15, Shanghai Composite weakened 62.02 points or 1.79% to 3,399.48, Nikkei 225 slipped 378.7 points or 0.96% to 39,470.44 and Taiwan Weighted lost 26.32 points or 0.11% to 23,020.48, while Straits Times rose 6.33 points or 0.17% to 3,815.60 and KOSPI increased 12.34 points or 0.49% to 2,494.46.