Indian equities remain in green terrain

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some of their initial gains in morning session but managed to trade in green territory due to buying in FMCG, Energy and Oil & Gas stocks. Some optimism came with an authoritative seasonal forecast from the South Asian Seasonal Climate Outlook Forum report that normal to above normal rainfall is most likely during the 2022 southwest monsoon season (June-September) over most parts of South Asia. Traders also took a note of the Finance Ministry stated that the Centre has already released eight months of GST compensation dues to the states for the fiscal ended March 2022 and Rs 78,704 crore is pending due to inadequate balance in the cess fund. It said normally, GST compensation for 10 months (April-January) of any financial year is released during that year and the compensation of February-March is released only in the next financial year. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading in green even as the mood remained cautious amid concerns about Covid-fueled economic slowdown and the looming interest rate hikes. Back home, Fertilizer industry stocks remained in focus as the government said the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers for the Kharif season (April-September, 2022) will be Rs 60,939 crore, as against Rs 57,150 crore for the whole of last year. The increase in subsidy is meant to insulate farmers from the increases in the prices of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and other non-urea nutrients in the global markets.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 56975.54, up by 156.15 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 56961.33 and 57296.44. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.01%, while Small cap index was down by 0.30%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.95%, Energy up by 0.74%, Oil & Gas up by 0.65%, Utilities up by 0.38% and Healthcare up by 0.36%, while Telecom down by 0.89%, Realty down by 0.56%, TECK down by 0.28%, IT down by 0.21% and Bankex down by 0.13% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.60%, Asian Paints up by 2.15%, Reliance Industries up by 1.20%, Sun Pharma up by 1.19% and Power Grid Corporation up by 1.16%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 1.98%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.62%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.02%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.75% and HDFC Bank down by 0.62% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Rating agency Icra Ratings in its latest report has said that general insurance industry's gross direct premium income (GDPI) is expected to grow by 10-12 per cent in the current fiscal (FY23) on account of rising awareness of medical insurance and improvement in economic activity. It stated the GDPI of public sector (PSU) insurers is expected to grow moderately at 4-6 per cent, while private insurers are expected to capture market share by growing at a higher rate of 13-15 per cent in FY23.

It further stated already the resumption of economic activity after the waning of Covid-19 infections has led to the industry's GDPI growth recovering by an estimated 11 per cent in FY2022 compared to a 4 per cent growth in FY2021. The GDPI of private sector insurers likely grew at a faster rate of 14 per cent compared to the growth of 5 per cent witnessed by PSU insurers in FY2022. In the 11 months of FY22, the gross premium from the health segment experienced a steep Y-o-Y growth of 26 per cent, while the fire segment premium grew by 8 per cent despite partial lockdowns across the country.

Moreover, it said the combined ratio across the industry deteriorated to 119 per cent in the nine months of FY2022 from 112 per cent in the year ago period with increase in health claims. Covid claims accounted for 6 per cent of the total number of health claims paid in FY2021 and are expected to form around 11-12 per cent of the total number of health claims paid in FY2022. The combined ratio for the industry is expected to improve in FY2023 driven by lower health claims and likely improvement in risk pricing by the insurers.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17082.30, up by 43.90 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 17079.40 and 17189.50. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.47%, Asian Paints up by 2.16%, UPL up by 2.09%, Eicher Motors up by 1.42% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.33%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 1.96%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.51%, Hindalco down by 1.41%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.97% and Adani Ports &SEZ down by 0.79% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets are trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 411.57 points or 1.56% to 26,798.20, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 103.76 points or 0.64% to 16,407.11, Jakarta Composite soared 49.49 points or 0.69% to 7,246.25, KOSPI rose 17.57 points or 0.67% to 2,656.63, Straits Times advanced 9.44 points or 0.28% to 3,330.11, Shanghai Composite gained 7.28 points or 0.25% to 2,965.56 and Hang Seng increased 243.70 points or 1.22% to 20,190.06.