Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green in morning deals, amid recovery in global markets and buying in Utilities, Telecom and Oil & Gas stocks. Traders took some support with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stating that the inaugural India-UK '2+2' foreign and defence dialogue on October 16 saw the two sides focusing on ways to boost cooperation in a range of key areas such as trade and investment, defence, critical technologies, civil aviation, health and energy. Traders overlooked a private report that a sharp decline in tomato prices may have caused the headline CPI (Consumer Price Index) inflation to plunge to 5.02% in September from 6.83% in August, but risks to food prices still persist. As per the report, an erratic monsoon and low reservoir levels are likely to have moderately adverse impact on yields of several crops, including paddy, pulses, oilseeds, and spices, which may keep inflationary pressures elevated in the near-term. On the global front, Asian markets are trading higher on optimism that ongoing diplomatic efforts may help prevent the Israel-Hamas war from expanding into a wider conflict. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66454.72, up by 287.79 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 66426.11 and 66559.82. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.48%, while Small cap index was up by 0.73%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.06%, Telecom up by 1.04%, Oil & Gas up by 0.95%, Power up by 0.84% and FMCG up by 0.77%, while Realty down by 0.36% and Capital Goods down by 0.17% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid Corporation up by 1.67%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.24%, ITC up by 1.00%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.98% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.79%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.90%, Tata Motors down by 0.69%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.64%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.05% and TCS down by 0.03% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has said that passenger vehicle wholesales in India increased by 1.87 per cent year-on-year to 3,61,717 units in September 2023. The passenger vehicle dispatches to dealers stood at 3,55,043 units in September 2022. Similarly, two-wheeler sales increased to 17,49,794 units last month from 17,35,199 units in the year-ago period. Total three-wheeler wholesales rose to 74,418 units last month from 50,626 units in September 2022. Total dispatches last month were up at 21,41,208 units from 20,93,286 units in September 2022. 

Further, it said in the September quarter of current financial year (Q2FY24), overall sales rose to 61,16,091 units from 60,52,739 units in the second quarter of FY23. Passenger vehicle dispatches rose marginally to 10,74,189 units in the second quarter from 10,26,309 units in the July-September period of last fiscal. Commercial vehicles dispatches rose to 2,47,929 units from 2,31,991 units in the year-ago period.  Total three-wheeler wholesales rose to 1,95,215 units in the second quarter as compared with 1,20,319 units in the same period last fiscal. Total two-wheeler dispatches however declined to 45,98,442 units in July-September 2023 as against 46,73,931 units in the year-ago period.

SIAM President Vinod Aggarwal said passenger vehicles, three-wheelers, and commercial vehicle segments continued to witness growth in the second quarter of 2023-24, although two-wheeler wholesale numbers posted a marginal de-growth, compared to the same period of last year. He added ‘As we get into the festival season, all segments of the industry are optimistic and look towards posting good numbers in Q3 as well.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19823.80, up by 92.05 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 19809.75 and 19849.75. There were 45 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.24%, BPCL up by 1.71%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.70%, Tata Consumer Product up by 1.68% and SBI Life Insurance up by 1.39%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 0.80%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.74%, UPL down by 0.62%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.59% and ONGC down by 0.08% were the top losers.

All Asian markets are trading higher; Nikkei 225 surged 320.48 points or 1.01% to 31,979.51, Taiwan Weighted added 1.25 points or 0.01% to 16,653.49, Hang Seng advanced 123.05 points or 0.69% to 17,763.41, Straits Times rose 8.54 points or 0.27% to 3,172.43, KOSPI increased 25.68 points or 1.05% to 2,461.92, Jakarta Composite gained 18.13 points or 0.26% to 6,914.42 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 7.94 points or 0.26% to 3,081.75.