Equity benchmarks at the high point of the day; auto stocks decline

The domestic equity benchmarks resumed their upward momentum and currently traded at the day`s high in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded tad above the 21,450 level. Auto shares, however, witnessed significant selling pressure.

At 12:33 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 135.42 points or 0.19% to 71,450.51. The Nifty 50 index added 32.65 points or 0.15% to 21,451.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.17% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.23%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,943 shares rose and 1,698 shares fell. A total of 153 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India�s economic growth rate is expected to remain strong, supported by macroeconomic and financial stability, according to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) assessment report released on Tuesday.

"Going forward, the country�s foundational digital public infrastructure and a strong government infrastructure program will continue to sustain growth. India has potential for even higher growth, with greater contributions from labour and human capital, if comprehensive reforms are implemented,� the report stated.

The country�s current account deficit is expected to improve to 1.8 per cent of GDP in FY2023/24 as a result of resilient services exports and, to a lesser extent, lower oil import costs, the report adds.

It projects a real GDP growth rate of 6.3 per cent in FY2023/24 and FY2024/25 and states that "headline inflation is expected to gradually decline to the target although it remains volatile due to food price shocks�.

The World Bank�s "Migration and Development Brief", released on Monday, states that the inward remittances to India in 2023 increased by 12.3 per cent to $125 billion from 111.22 billion in 2022. India`s inward remittances now account for 3.4 per cent of the country�s gross domestic product (GDP).

According to this report, India continues to be the highest recipient of remittances globally, followed by Mexico ($67 billion) and China ($50 billion). India currently accounts for 66 per cent of all remittances to South Asia, higher than 63 per cent in 2022.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 0.39% to 13.85. The Nifty 28 December 2023 futures were trading at 21,559.50, at a premium of 32.5 points as compared with the spot at 21,451.30.

The Nifty option chain for the 28 December 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 41.9 lakh contracts at the 21,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 52.5 lakh contracts were seen at 21,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index shed 0.69% to 17,944.45. The index had advanced 0.17% to end at 18,068.25 yesterday.

Hero MotoCorp (down 1.61%), Tube Investments of India (down 1.59%), TVS Motor Company (down 1.58%), Samvardhana Motherson International (down 1.43%) and Eicher Motors (down 1.31%) were the top losers.

Among the other losers were Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.77%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.66%), Bajaj Auto (down 0.54%), Balkrishna Industries (down 0.39%) and MRF (down 0.26%).

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