INDICES TRADE WITH MODERATE GAINS; OIL & GAS SHARES ADVANCE

The headline equity benchmarks traded with decent gains in mid-morning trade. The Nifty hovered above the 25,850 mark. Oil & gas shares extended gains for the second consecutive trading session.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 135.57 points or 0.16% to 84,683.92. The Nifty 50 index rose 73.30 points or 0.28% to 25,864.25.

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 0.39% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.62%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,365 shares rose and 1,543 shares fell. A total of 166 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.

IPO Update :

The initial public offer (IPO) of Manba Finance received 3,87,44,875 bids for shares as against 87,99,000 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:15 IST on Monday (23 September 2024). The issue was subscribed 4.40 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Monday (23 September 2024) and it will close on Wednesday (25 September 2024). The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 114 to Rs 120 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 125 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index :

The Nifty Oil & Gas index gained 1.84% to 12,731. The index advanced 2.54% in two consecutive trading sessions.

Adani Total Gas (up 5.57%), Oil India (up 3.35%), Oil & Natural Gas Corpn (up 2.69%), Aegis Logistics (up 2.27%), Petronet LNG (up 2.25%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 2.11%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (up 2.08%), GAIL (India) (up 1.95%), Mahanagar Gas (up 1.74%) and Indian Oil Corporation (up 1.68%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight :

HFCL advanced 2.16% after the company announced its strategic partnership with general atomics aeronautical systems incorporated (GA-ASI) to develop and supply critical sub-systems for GA-ASI�s advanced unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

JSW Infrastructure jumped 4.54% after the company has taken delivery of a new, dredger from Netherlands based IHC Dredging to support its expansion plans.

KEC International rose 0.48%. The company said that it has secured new orders worth Rs 1,003 crore across its various businesses.

Global Markets:

Asian markets traded higher on Monday, buoyed by continued optimism surrounding recent interest rate cuts. 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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