Sensex Up 591 Points as Realty and Banking Stocks Lead the Surge

Indian equity markets began the week on a strong note, with key indices closing in the green on Monday, driven by robust buying in realty, banking, and IT stocks. The BSE Sensex surged 591.69 points, or 0.73%, to close at 81,973.05, while the NSE Nifty rose by 163.70 points, or 0.66%, ending at 25,127.95.

Midcap and smallcap indices also gained, with the Nifty Midcap 100 closing at 59,465.45 after a 0.43% rise, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 climbing 0.55% to close at 26,197.90.

Buying activity was strong across multiple sectors, including realty, IT, financial services, private banks, auto, PSU banks, pharma, and FMCG. However, pressure persisted in the media, metal, and oil & gas sectors.

Market breadth was mixed, with 1,952 shares advancing and 1,919 declining on the BSE. About 140 shares remained unchanged by the close.

Among Nifty’s top gainers were Wipro, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Life, L&T, and HDFC Bank. On the losing side, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel, and Bajaj Finance ended the day in the red.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) increased their selling on October 11, offloading equities worth Rs 4,162.66 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) boosted their buying, purchasing equities worth Rs 3,730.87 crore on the same day.

Market Sentiment 

Market experts attributed the positive sentiment to optimism surrounding potential rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), bolstered by strong domestic tax collections. Additionally, investors are keeping a close watch on upcoming earnings reports from major companies, including Infosys, as well as the much-anticipated Hyundai Motor India IPO.

“Globally, attention is focused on third-quarter earnings and the upcoming European Central Bank rate decision, with US stock futures and European shares showing an upward trend,” said Vikram Kasat of Prabhudas Lilladher.

Trade analysts also noted that Nifty appears to have resumed its uptrend toward the 25,500 mark following a brief three-day consolidation period.

Indian Stock Market Boom Fuels Demat Account Surge to Reach 175 Million in September

The Indian financial market has been witnessing a significant surge in the number of demat accounts, according to a recent report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services.  The total number of these accounts reached 175 million in September, up from 171 million in August. This increase is a testament to the robust performance of the Indian stock market, which continues to outperform its global counterparts, attracting more investors and driving up the number of active clients on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

The NSE, a pivotal player in the Indian financial market, saw its active client base increase by 2.4% on a month-on-month basis, reaching 47.9 million in September. This growth is not an isolated incident but part of a larger trend. The report highlighted that new account additions jumped by 4.4 million in September, with an average monthly addition of 4 million in the current fiscal year to date.

The Indian stock market’s performance has not only attracted new investors but also reshaped the landscape of brokerage firms. The report indicated that the top five discount brokers now account for 64.5% of total NSE active clients, a significant increase from 61.9% in the same month last year.

Brokerage Firms and Depositories: A Changing Landscape

This shift towards discount brokers underscores the changing preferences of investors who are increasingly seeking cost-effective trading options. Among the depositories, Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL) continued to gain market share in terms of the total number of demat accounts. However, on a year-on-year basis, National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) lost 410bp/90bp market share in total/incremental demat accounts.

The report also shed light on the performance of various online brokerages. Zerodha, a leading online brokerage, reported a 1.1% on-month increase in its client count, reaching 8 million. However, it experienced a slight dip in market share, falling 20bp to 16.6%. On the other hand, Groww, another popular online brokerage, reported a 3.1% increase in its client count, reaching 12.3 million, and a 15bp rise in market share to 25.6%.

Angel One, another key player in the market, also saw a 3.1% increase in its client count, reaching 7.4 million, and a 10bp rise in market share to 15.4%. Upstox reported a 1.5% month-on-month increase in its client count to 2.8 million, but experienced a 5bp fall in market share to 5.9%.

Market Performance and Future Outlook

ICICI Securities, on the other hand, reported a client count of 1.9 million, with a 10bp dip in its market share to 4.2%. The report also provided insights into the overall average daily turnover (ADTO), which grew 7.1% on-month to Rs 538.6 lakh crore. The futures and options ADTO rose by 7.2%, while the cash ADTO declined by 3.8%.

This surge in demat accounts and active clients on the NSE is reminiscent of the boom in retail investing witnessed globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. As lockdowns were imposed worldwide, many individuals turned to stock trading, leading to a surge in demat accounts.

Sensex Opens Positive, Gains 256 Points; Experts Cite Middle-East Tensions

India’s equity markets opened higher on Tuesday, buoyed by strong performances in banking stocks and gains in UltraTech Cement, NTPC, and L&T among others on the BSE benchmark index.

By 9:59 a.m., the Sensex had risen by 258 points or 0.32% to 81,308, while the Nifty climbed 58.20 points or 0.23% to 24,853.

Leading the charge in the Sensex were UltraTech Cement, M&M, Axis Bank, HUL, SBI, L&T, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and IndusInd Bank. On the other hand, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, Wipro, Titan, HCL Tech, Infosys, TCS, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki, and Nestle saw declines.

The banking sector emerged as a major driver, with Nifty Bank advancing 262 points or 0.56% to 50,759. Among sectoral indices, financial services, PSU banks, FMCG, media, private banks, infrastructure, services, and healthcare posted significant gains, while auto, IT, metal, realty, and energy sectors lagged.

Midcap and smallcap stocks also saw buying interest. The Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 376 points or 0.66% to 57,676, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index increased 108 points or 0.60% to 18,351.

Across Asia, markets showed mixed activity, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Seoul in the red, while Bangkok and Jakarta were trading higher. U.S. stock markets closed lower on Monday.

Market experts attributed the recent market volatility to negative signals from escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, significant foreign portfolio investor (FPI) outflows, and election-related concerns. “The net FPI selling of ₹50,011 crore over the last six sessions has been largely offset by domestic institutional investor (DII) buying of ₹53,203 crore,” they said, adding that accumulating quality blue-chip financial and IT stocks remains a sound strategy amidst the current volatility.

BREXIT Fall Out: PM Cameron to Quit in October

Now that the UK has done what was expected in the last one decade, exiting from the European Union, Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron has decided to quit from the office in October as the referendum went against his wish to continue in the Union.

In India, the government’s reaction is on expected lines that the economy has enough "firepower" to deal with the situation, and that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been "working" on possible eventualities and the Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das was upbeat on fundamentals. But let us face it — grim future ahead and perhaps another prolonged period of uncertainty and recession.

The BSE Sensex lost 1,050 points and investors have lost Rs.4 lakh crore in one day. The rupee touched the 68-mark, down by nealry one rupee in one day, indicating its weakness in a globally turbulent economy. "You know the pound sterling have been depreciating so all currencies have been depreciating," defended Das. With $360 billion in foreign exchange reserves with RBI, he said India’s position "is very sound and solid."

While the knee-jerk reaction is likely to cool in a coule of weeks, for Britain the changes will not be overwhelming as it had always played an outsider role within the European Union. Unlike other members, it had kept its currency, the pound sterling in tact and never joined the Schengen zone of passport-free travel in Europe. Its contribution to EU budget is also relatively less than others.

The pound sterling may see downward movement for sometime and so is India’s rupee but for the reality of entirely breaking away from the European Union may take about two years, if the current David cameroon’s government gives its consent and goes ahead with the referendum’s outcome to exit from EU. So, these two years will be sufficient for India to move closer to the UK both in terms of trade treaty and negotiate more opportunites.

While the immigration was a major cause of worry for Indians in Britain, they can breathe easy now with the exit plan putting a cap on 100,000 immigrants per annum taking concrete shape as no more EU immigrants can enter Britain so easily now. With the immigrants stopped from elsewhere, India may leverage the opportunity for a more favourable immigration policy with the UK.

Finally, the oil prices will fall following Brexit and it will squarely put in more reserves in RBI kitty. "So when oil prices decline, Indian economy benefits," said another Indian Finance Ministry official.

UK PM David Cameron to Resign in October.