Sensex, Nifty remain higher

Indian equity benchmarks remained higher in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading in green. Positive cues from other Asian markets helped key indices to trade in green. Traders were getting relief, after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the central bank will continue to monitor the emerging COVID-19 situation and will deploy all resources and instruments at its command for citizens, business entities, and institutions beleaguered by the second wave.

But, upside remained capped, as India's services sector activities eased to a three-month low in April, as the rise in business activity was constrained by the pandemic and sentiment towards growth prospects faded. The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index fell to 54 in April from 54.6 in March, the slowest increase in output in three months.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher, after the manufacturing sector in Thailand swung to expansion in April, the latest survey from Markit Economics showed on Wednesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.7. That's up from 48.8 in March and it moves remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The increase reflected the new orders and output components. The stocks of purchases and suppliers' delivery times components also provided positive directional influences on the headline figure, while the contribution of employment was again broadly neutral.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 48457.98, up by 204.47 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 48254.32 and 48620.51. There were 21 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.13%, while Small cap index was up by 0.40%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.91%, Bankex up by 0.95%, Telecom up by 0.86%, Oil & Gas up by 0.70% and PSU up by 0.59%, while Realty down by 0.39%, Industrials down by 0.25%, Capital Goods down by 0.21%, FMCG down by 0.16% and Consumer discretionary down by 0.07% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 3.78%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 1.98%, Indusind Bank up by 1.57%, ONGC up by 1.50% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.40%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.54%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.28%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.51%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.45% and Asian Paints down by 0.42% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has approved applications of Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) -- Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and MTNL -- for conducting 5G trials but none of them will be using technologies of Chinese entities. The list of telecom gear makers approved for trials include Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, C-DOT and Reliance Jio's indigenously developed technologies. This means that Chinese gear makers will not be part of the 5G trials.

Initially, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea had submitted proposals to carry out trials using technology of China's Huawei. Later, they submitted applications wherein the trails will be done without technologies from Chinese vendors. These TSPs have tied up with original equipment manufacturers and technology providers which are Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung and C-DOT. In addition, Reliance JioInfocomm will also be conducting trials using its own indigenous technology. The latest move also indicates that the government may bar Chinese companies from participating in rolling out of the 5G services in the country.

DoT said the telecom firms have been given permission to use experimental spectrum in various, bands including the mid-band (3.2 GHz to 3.67 GHz), millimeter wave band (24.25 GHz to 28.5 GHz) and in sub-gigahertz band (700 GHz). Telecom operators will also be permitted to use their existing spectrum (800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2500 MHz) for conduct of the 5G trials. The duration of the trials, at present, is for a period of 6 months. This includes a time period of 2 months for procurement and setting up of the equipment. The permission letters specify that each TSP will have to conduct trials in rural and semi-urban settings in addition to urban settings so that the benefit of the 5G technology proliferates across the country and is not confined only to urban areas.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14552.55, up by 56.05 points or 0.39% after trading in a range of 14506.60 and 14608.20. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Sun Pharma up by 3.54%, UPL up by 3.35%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 1.85%, Wipro up by 1.62% and Indusind Bank up by 1.53%. On the flip side, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 3.78%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.39%, Tata Steel down by 1.41%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.11% and SBI Life Insurance down by 0.77% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; Hang Seng added 5.71 points or 0.02% to 28,562.85, Taiwan Weighted surged 71.94 points or 0.42% to 17,005.72 and Jakarta Composite rose 13.85 points or 0.23% to 5,977.67, while Straits Times declined 37.93 points or 1.19% to 3,141.20.