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Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in high spirit in noon session, on account of broad based buying in blue chip counters as softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data eased fears of aggressive rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. The Labor Department released a report showing US consumer prices unexpectedly came in flat in the month of July. The Labor Department said its consumer price index was unchanged in July after jumping by 1.3 percent in June. Sentiments were also upbeat after Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) stood as net buyers for Rs 1,061.88 crore worth of shares, exchange data showed. On the sectoral front, airline stocks were in limelight as govt lifted domestic airfare caps. The Union Aviation Ministry said that limits imposed on domestic airfares will be removed from August 31, after a span of approximately 27 months. In scrip specific developments, Zomato surged on acquiring entire stake in Blink Commerce India and Zydus Lifesciences jumped on getting final approval from USFDA for Prochlorperazine Maleate tablets. On the global front, all Asian markets were trading higher.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59350.86, up by 533.57 points or 0.91% after trading in a range of 59279.94 and 59484.99. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.85%, while Small cap index was up by 0.54%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.62%, Consumer Durables up by 1.60%, Bankex up by 1.46%, TECK up by 1.18% and Capital Goods was up by 1.14%, while Telecom down by 0.40%, FMCG down by 0.36%, Metal down by 0.09% and Utilities was down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 2.55%, Wipro up by 2.23%, Axis Bank up by 2.05%, Titan Co up by 2.04% and ICICI Bank was up by 1.90%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.13%, ITC down by 1.08%, NTPC down by 0.61%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.58% and Hindustan Unilever was down by 0.44% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, credit rating agency -- Crisil in its latest report has said that elevated inflation will cap the operating margin of apparel retailers to below the pre-pandemic level, even though they are on course to stitch a 21-23 percent revenue growth this fiscal (FY23). It also said strong same-store sales, new store launches, and higher contribution from online channels will sew a 21-23 percent revenue growth for apparel retailers this fiscal, or 500 percentage points over the pre-pandemic (fiscal 2020) levels, despite elevated inflation impacting discretionary demand.

The agency expects large apparel retailers to grow faster at 25-30 percent this fiscal, compared with 10-15 percent by small and mid-sized players. However, it said though operating margins will improve by 175-200 bps to 7.75-8 percent boosted by an increase in scale leading to better fixed-cost absorption, price hikes, and a greater share of private labels, higher input prices will cap margin by 50-70 bps below fiscal 2020 level. Among the key inputs, domestic cotton prices almost doubled between April 2020 and May 2022. Despite some moderation since June 2022, the prices are expected to remain elevated.

The agency expects large apparel retailers will clip at 25-30 percent, while small and mid-sized players will see their top lines growing by 10-15 percent this fiscal. Large players will also lead the improvements in operating margins with 250-300 bps expansion. Capex is set to rise over 30 percent this fiscal because of the improvement in demand. Apart from store expansions, the addition of warehousing space, and investment towards brand acquisitions, a significant part of the spending will be to augment tech platforms and online offerings.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17664.60, up by 129.85 points or 0.74% after trading in a range of 17644.45 and 17719.30. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 2.47%, Wipro up by 2.24%, Axis Bank up by 2.02%, Titan Co up by 1.91% and ICICI Bank was up by 1.83%. On the flip side, Tata Consumer Products down by 1.77%, Apollo Hospital down by 1.27%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.17%, ITC down by 1.12% and Hindalco was down by 0.83% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; Jakarta Composite soared 72.59 points or 1.02% to 7,158.83, Hang Seng increased 413.14 points or 2.11% to 20,023.98, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 258.83 points or 1.73% to 15,197.85, Shanghai Composite gained 47.78 points or 1.48% to 3,277.80, KOSPI rose 35.91 points or 1.45% to 2,516.79 and Straits Times was up by 13.66 points or 0.42% to 3,299.99.

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