Bourses continue lackadaisical trade in late afternoon session

Tracking weak global cues, Indian equity markets continued their lackadaisical trade in red. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were also trading under water. Traders remain concerned after private report stated that unemployment rate in India rose to 7.83 per cent in April 2022, higher than 7.60 per cent in March, Overall, unemployment hurt urban areas more than the rural areas last month. Urban unemployment rose to 9.22 per cent in April in comparison to 8.28 per cent in March, while rural unemployment fell to 7.18 per cent in comparison to 7.29 per cent in March. On the global front, Asian markets fell in thin trading with markets in Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Indonesia closed for holidays. European markets were trading in red after sharp declines on Wall Street in the previous session, as weak economic data from China and the eurozone compounded fears about the global growth outlook.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 56805.64, down by 255.23 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 56412.62 and 56919.31. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.70%, while Small cap index was down by 0.98%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.39% and FMCG was up by 0.11%, while Consumer Durables down by 2.27%, Telecom down by 1.69%, IT down by 1.66%, Capital Goods down by 1.63% and TECK was down by 1.42% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 4.05%, NTPC up by 2.34%, ITC up by 1.31%, HDFC up by 1.13% and Power Grid up by 0.86%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 2.87%, Titan Company down by 2.46%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.10%, Infosys down by 2.03% and Larsen & Toubro down by 2.03% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Indian manufacturing activity witnessed faster growth in the month of April, amid a solid and faster improvement in operating conditions across the sector. Growth gathered momentum in the intermediate and capital goods segments, but there was a slowdown at consumer goods makers. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 54.7 in April from 54.0 in March.

As per the report, the retreat of COVID-19 restrictions continued to support demand. The rate of new order growth was marked, above trend and faster than that seen in March. Echoing the trend seen for new business, the rate of output growth quickened in April and outpaced its long-run average. Moreover, the latest rise in production took the current sequence of uninterrupted increases to ten months.

On the inflation front, firms signalled a further upturn in input costs during April, with chemical, electronic component, energy, metal, plastic and textile costs reportedly higher than in March. Increases were partly attributed to rising transportation fees and the war in Ukraine. The overall rate of inflation strengthened to a five-month high and outpaced its long-run trend.

Meanwhile, there was some improvement in business confidence at the start of fiscal year 2022/23. However, the overall degree of optimism remained subdued by historical standards. Some firms foresee further improvements in demand and economic conditions, while others noted that the year-ahead outlook was difficult to predict.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17014.05, down by 88.50 points or 0.52% after trading in a range of 16917.25 and 17046.25. There were 16 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 4.13%, Coal India up by 1.94%, HDFC up by 1.17%, ITC up by 1.16% and HDFC Bank up by 0.94%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 3.89%, Bajaj Auto down by 3.03%, SBI Life down by 3.01%, Apollo Hospital down by 2.97% and Wipro down by 2.95% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading lower, KOSPI fell 7.60 points or 0.28% to 2,687.45 and Nikkei 225 was down by 29.37 points or 0.11% to 26,818.53.

European markets were trading in red, France’s CAC decreased 131.07 points or 2.01% to 6,402.70 and Germany’s DAX was down by 206.20 points or 1.46% to 13,891.68.