Market trade in positive terrain; bank shares in demand

The benchmark indices traded with small gains in the mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 24,450 mark. Bank shares extended gains for the fouth consecutive trading session.

At 14:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 102.23 points or 0.13% to 80,951.91. The Nifty 50 index added 6.65 points or 0.03% to 24,463.80.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rallied 0.66% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.54%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2,291 shares rose and 1,616 shares fell. A total of 119 shares were unchanged.

The three-day meeting of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) begins today, 4 December 2024 and will conclude on 6 December 2024. The outcome of the meeting will be announced by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on 6 December 2024.

Economy:

India posted a strong 58.4 services PMI in November 2024, down only a fraction from the prior month's 58.5. During November, services sector employment notably grew at the fastest pace ever recorded since this survey began in 2005. The hiring surge reflected the sector's improving business confidence, growing new orders, and vigorous international demand. At the same time, high food and labour costs drove up input and output prices to their fastest rates in 15 months and nearly 12 years respectively.

Finally, service providers were more confident regarding the year-ahead outlook for business activity. Confidence reached its highest level since May, boosted by predictions of continued demand strength and expectations that marketing efforts will drive new business.

Meanwhile, the HSBC India Composite Output Index posted 58.6 in November, down only marginally from 59.1 in October and therefore indicating a sharp rate of expansion. The goods producing sector recorded the larger slowdown in growth but still posted a faster increase than that see in the service economy. The same trend was evident for new orders.

Service providers signaled sharper cost pressures than manufacturers and subsequently recorded the steeper increase in selling prices.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Bank index gained 1.30% to 53,380.50. The index rallied 2.83% in four consecutive trading sessions.

Canara Bank (up 3.79%), Federal Bank (up 2.54%), Bank of Baroda (up 2.53%), HDFC Bank (up 2.08%), Punjab National Bank (up 1.89%), IDFC First Bank (up 1.49%), State Bank of India (up 0.9%), ICICI Bank (up 0.76%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 0.45%) and AU Small Finance Bank (up 0.16%) advanced.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.40% to 6.797 as compared with the previous close of 6.824.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 84.7225, compared with its close of 84.6825 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for the 5 December 2024 settlement fell 0.09% to Rs 75,895.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.10% to 106.47.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.62% to 4.251.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for the November 2024 settlement gained 10 cents or 0.14% to $73.72 a barrel.

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