Market Commentary - Mid-Session
Sensex adds 225 pts; European mkt opens higher As on : 23-Sep-24  13:34

The key equity indices traded with modest gains in afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above 25,850 mark. Barring IT index all the other sectoral indices on the NSE were traded in green.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, added 225.66 points or 0.27% to 84,772.73. The Nifty 50 index rose 102.50 points or 0.40% to 25,893.45.

The Sensex and Nifty clocked an all-time high of 84,881.73 and 25,925.80, respectively in morning trade.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.48% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.71%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,376 shares rose and 1,586 shares fell. A total of 160 shares were unchanged.

Economy :

The headline HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index dipped to 59.3 in September from 60.7 in August. The index pointed to another rapid monthly increase in business activity, albeit one that was the least pronounced in 2024 so far. Softer expansions were seen across both the manufacturing and services sectors.

The HSBC Flash India Manufacturing PMI posted 56.7 in September, down from 57.5 in August. The reading signaled a further marked strengthening in business conditions for goods producers, but the rate of improvement was the softest since January.

Further, India's forex reserves rose by $223 million to a new all-time high of $689.458 billion for the week ended on September 13, according to the Reserve Bank data released on Friday.

The overall forex kitty had jumped by $5.248 billion to a high of $689.235 billion for the previous reporting week ended on September 6.

The foreign currency assets decreased by $515 million to $603.629 billion, the data showed.

Gold reserves increased by $899 million to $62.887 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) dropped by $53 million to $18.419 billion, the apex bank said.

India's reserve position with the IMF declined by $108 million to $4.523 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.

Gainers & Losers:

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) (up 3.11%), State Bank of India (up 2.95%), Mahindra and Mahindra (up 2.74%), Bajaj Auto (up 2.41%) and HDFC Life Insurance Company (up 2.03%) were major Nifty gainers.

Eicher Motors (down 2.09%), ICICI Bank (down 1.42%), Tech Mahindra (down 1.40%), Infosys (down 1.28%) and Indusind Bank (down 1.17%) were major Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Vodafone Idea advanced 5.06% after the company has signed a $3.6 billion deal with Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung for the supply of network equipment over a period of three years. This is the first step in the company's Rs 55,000-crore capex plan.

Adani Total Gas jumped 5.92% after the firm secured funding of $375 million from international lenders to expand its capacity its city gas distribution network.

Mankind Pharma advanced 3.49% after the company's board approved to raise funds aggregating to Rs 10,000 crore through non convertible debentures (NCDs) and commercial papers (CPs) on private placement basis.

Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) advanced 2.91% after the company has received an order worth over Rs 6,100 crore from NTPC to set up supercritical thermal power project in Chhattisgarh.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals rallied 4.83% after the pharma major announced that its formulation manufacturing facility located in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra, has successfully cleared the USFDA inspection with zero observations.

JSW Infrastructure gained 3.09% after the company has taken delivery of a new, dredger from Netherlands based IHC Dredging to support its expansion plans.

Inox Wind (IWL) rose 0.57%. The company said that it has signed a consortium agreement with a group of 10 banks, led by ICICI Bank along with a host of marquee private and foreign banks, for obtaining credit limits of nearly Rs 2,200 crore.

Doms Industries rose 0.17%. The company said that it has acquired 51.77% equity stake in Uniclan Healthcare to expand its distribution network. The company has acquired 7,116,080 equity shares of Uniclan for a total consideration of Rs 54.88 crore.

Global Markets:

Most European market traded higher on Monday despite French and German business activity data declined. France's PMI data stood at 47.4 in September down from 53.1 in August, Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) data showed and German business activity also contracted in September, with the HCOB flash composite PMI falling from 48.4 in August to 47.2 in September, a seven-month low.

Asian stocks traded higher as Investors digested monetary policy decisions from Japan and China as well as the U.S. Federal Reserve's sharp rate cut last week. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) loosened monetary conditions by reducing its 14-day reverse repo rate. While this move provided a positive impetus, gains were tempered by the PBOC's recent decision to maintain its benchmark loan prime rate.

Regional trading activity was subdued due to a market holiday in Japan. However, Asian markets were building on strong gains from the previous week, following the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut and the initiation of an easing cycle. Investors were eagerly awaiting key economic indicators and statements from U.S. officials for further insights into the Fed's monetary policy path.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a new record high on Friday, despite a mixed performance overall. The 30-stock Dow inched up 0.09%, for a new closing high of 42,063.36. The S&P 500 pulled back 0.19%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.36%. Investors weighed potential risks to economic growth and priced in more aggressive rate cuts than indicated by the Fed's dot plot projections.

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