Sensex, Nifty trade in green terrain

Indian equity benchmarks remained higher in late morning deals, with both Sensex and Nifty trading in green terrain, despite negative cues from other Asian markets. Traders were positive, amid report that Indian exporters are expecting continuous growth in the country's outbound shipments despite increase in COVID-19 cases as their order books are encouraging and there is a pick-up in demand in rich markets. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President S K Saraf said that in most of the states , manufacturing and exports related services have been exempted from the restrictions and inter-state movement of cargo is permitted by the central government. Besides, with the second wave of the pandemic disrupting supply chains for most industries, India Ratings has projected an overall 6 per cent median revenue growth for corporates this fiscal over FY20.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, after consumer prices in South Korea were up 2.3 percent on year in April. The Statistics Korea said that surpassed forecasts for 2.15 percent and was up from 1.5 percent in March. It was the highest annual reading since August 2017, which saw an inflation rate of 2.5 percent. On a monthly basis, inflation rose 0.2 percent - again beating expectations for 0.1 percent, which would have been unchanged from the previous month.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 48890.08, up by 171.56 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 48521.85 and 48996.53. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.04%, while Small cap index was up by 1.15%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 2.46%, Bankex up by 1.53%, Utilities up by 1.44%, Oil & Gas up by 1.41% and Metal up by 1.30%, while IT down by 0.12%, Energy down by 0.11%, Healthcare down by 0.08% and TECK down by 0.08% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 3.02%, SBI up by 2.71%, Axis Bank up by 2.03%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.96% and Indusind Bank up by 1.64%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 0.91%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.86%, Titan Co down by 0.80%, Infosys down by 0.76% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.74% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has  stated  that the second wave of COVID-19 and the resultant localised lockdowns have impacted over 75 lakh jobs, taking the unemployment rate to a four-month high of 8 per cent. CMIE's managing director and chief executive Mahesh Vyas said the situation on the employment front is expected to continue to remain challenging going forward as well. He said ‘in the month of April, compared to March, we have lost 75 lakh jobs. That is what has caused the jump in the unemployment rate’.

The national unemployment rate touched 7.97 per cent as per the Centre's proprietary data, with urban areas witnessing higher stress at 9.78 per cent and rural joblessness at 7.13 per cent. The national unemployment rate had stood at 6.50 per cent in March, and the number on both rural and urban front was lower. The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a slew of pockets going under lockdown-like situation with only essential activities being allowed, which result in a chill in a bulk of economic activities and a resultant impact on jobs.

Vyas said ‘I do not know about the peaking of the COVID wave, but I can see stress on the employment front’. He added that ‘What is likely to happen is that unemployment can remain at high levels, he said, adding that the labour force participation rate can also fall. In worst situation, both can happen’. However, he said that the situation right now is not as dire as the one witnessed in the first lockdown, when the unemployment rate had touched up to 24 per cent levels.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14692.25, up by 58.10 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 14580.15 and 14723.40. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI Life Insurance up by 3.26%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.09%, UPL up by 3.03%, BPCL up by 2.73% and SBI up by 2.67%. On the flip side, Tata Consumer Products down by 3.43%, Cipla down by 2.05%, Wipro down by 1.06%, Reliance Industries down by 0.96% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.83% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Straits Times declined 5.40 points or 0.17% to 3,179.36, Taiwan Weighted slipped 238.86 points or 1.39% to 16,983.49, KOSPI fell 7.63 points or 0.24% to 3,119.57 and Jakarta Composite was down by 13.42 points or 0.23% to 5,939.18, while Hang Seng rose 64.18 points or 0.23% to 28,421.72.