Markets continue to trade in positive terrain

Indian stock markets continued to trade in positive terrain in noon session due to buying in Energy, Oil & Gas and Metal stocks. Buying in frontline stocks such as Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and SBI were aiding sentiment, while selling in HDFC, HDFC Bank and Infosys kept the gains in the markets in check. Traders took some solace with the commerce department’s preliminary data showing that India exported goods worth $18.79 billion during the first two weeks of April, up 37 per cent compared to the same period last year, as external demand continued to remain robust. Excluding petroleum products, the growth in this period was 23.64 per cent over the same period of 2021-22. However, upside remain capped as International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the debt piled on by the private sector during the coronavirus pandemic could lower growth for emerging markets by 1.3 percent over three years.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed with China's economic slowdown from COVID-19 lockdowns and the prospect of aggressive Federal Reserve monetary policy tightening keeping markets on edge. Back home, in scrip specific developments GAIL hits 52-week high ahead of record date for share buyback and RailTel Corporation jumped on securing work order of Rs 11.57 crore from RVNL.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57322.55, up by 155.81 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 57027.86 and 57459.89. There were 16 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.96%, while Small cap index was up by 0.93%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 2.52%, Oil & Gas up by 2.07%, Metal up by 1.77%, PSU up by 1.42% and Basic Materials was up by 1.12%, while TECK down by 0.71%, IT down by 0.59%, Capital Goods down by 0.04% and Telecom was down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 4.12%, ICICI Bank up by 1.95%, SBI up by 1.75%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.52% and Axis Bank was up by 1.48%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 3.67%, HDFC Bank down by 2.68%, Infosys down by 1.62%, HCL Tech down by 0.79% and Larsen & Toubro was down by 0.70% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said that India will consume semiconductors of around $70-80 billion to manufacture electronics products worth $300 billion by 2026 as envisaged in the government's vision document. He said the government will achieve the target of establishing a semiconductor ecosystem in the country based on the interest it is getting from around the globe.

The minister said ‘demand for digital devices and electronics products is only going up. If you have seen our electronics vision document, we have announced a target of $300 billion in electronic manufacturing, with $120 billion in exports. Our own consumption, based on $300 billion electronics (production target by 2026), will be almost $70-80 billion of semiconductors’.

Chandrasekhar has stated that the government has received proposals from five companies for setting up the electronic chip and display manufacturing plants with an investment of Rs 1.53 lakh crore under the Semicon India Programme, which entailed incentives to the tune of Rs 76,000 crore.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17238.20, up by 64.55 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 17152.60 and 17275.65. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Apollo Hospital up by 5.35%, Reliance Industries up by 4.00%, Coal India up by 2.93%, BPCL up by 2.38% and ICICI Bank was up by 2.16%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 3.69%, HDFC Bank down by 2.40%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.75%, Infosys down by 1.53% and HDFC Life Insurance was down by 1.38% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 185.38 points or 0.69% to 26,985.09, KOSPI rose 27.73 points or 1.03% to 2,720.94, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 94.53 points or 0.56% to 16,993.40 and Straits Times was up by 19.89 points or 0.6% to 3,322.96.

On the other hand, Shanghai Composite declined 12.14 points or 0.38% to 3,183.38, Jakarta Composite lost 61.71 points or 0.85% to 7,213.58 and Hang Seng was down by 507.12 points or 2.36% to 21,010.96.