Sensex, Nifty hold gains in late morning session

Positive trade continued over the Dalal Street in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty holding their notable gains, despite negative cues from other Asian markets. Domestic sentiments were positive, as with an aim to boost the start-up ecosystem in the country, the Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology (MeitY) launched Start-up Accelerators of MeitY for pRoduct Innovation, Development and growth (SAMRIDH). Adding more comfort among traders, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said that the government will soon launch a special incentive scheme to support 75 start-ups in areas of telemedicine, digital health and artificial intelligence.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, even after Japan's leading index increased in June, as initially estimated. The final data from the Cabinet Office showed that the leading index, which measures the future economic activity, rose to 104.1 in June from 102.6 in May, as estimated. The coincident index increased to 94.5 in June from 92.1 in the previous month. In the initial estimate, the reading was 94.0.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 56055.39, up by 111.18 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 55854.07 and 56112.39. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.25%, while Small cap index was up by 0.51%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.20%, Power up by 0.74%, FMCG up by 0.67%, Capital Goods up by 0.50% and Industrials up by 0.48%, while Telecom down by 1.87%, Metal down by 1.14%, PSU down by 0.64%, Basic Materials down by 0.59% and Auto down by 0.28% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 1.52%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.00%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.95%, HCL Tech. up by 0.88% and Axis Bank up by 0.76%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.37%, Power Grid down by 1.71%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.41%, NTPC down by 1.32% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.24% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey has urged the domestic industry to work in the direction of increasing the manufacturing sector's share in the country's GDP. He said steps like the production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes would help in boosting domestic manufacturing. He noted that share of manufacturing in GDP should be increased to 20-25 per cent.

Manufacturing sector's share in India's GDP is estimated at around 17 per cent currently. The minister added that the government is taking steps towards promoting ease of doing business and enhancing the quality and standards of products. He said ‘Use of new technologies like robotics and 3D printing will help in improving quality in the manufacturing sector’.

Pandey added that a PLI scheme for the auto sector is under consideration. The government has announced PLI schemes worth $26 billion for 13 sectors for enhancing India's manufacturing capabilities and exports. The sectors include advanced chemistry cell (ACC) battery, electronics/technology products, pharmaceuticals, telecom and networking products, food items, speciality steel and white goods.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16663.50, up by 28.85 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 16611.15 and 16683.70. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Reliance Industries up by 1.42%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.35%, Britannia up by 0.97%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.96% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.95%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.25%, Power Grid down by 1.65%, NTPC down by 1.40%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.36% and JSW Steel down by 1.34% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 369.76 points or 1.44% to 25,324.19, Jakarta Composite lost 55.02 points or 0.9% to 6,058.22, KOSPI fell 19.42 points or 0.62% to 3,127.39, Shanghai Composite declined 17.80 points or 0.5% to 3,522.58 and Straits Times trembled 1.49 points or 0.05% to 3,106.00. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 8.38 points or 0.03% to 27,733.18 and Taiwan Weighted strengthened 13.07 points or 0.08% to 17,058.93.