Bears hold grip over Dalal Street

Bears were holding a grip over the Dalal Street in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading in deep red, on the back of negative cues from other Asian markets. Traders remained worried, amid a private report stating that there was a drop in mobility last week amid a rise in Covid-19 cases across the country, multiple indicators show. Adding more concerns among traders, a paper by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) said that India should take a cautious approach towards launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC) as it could be hazardous to institutions, retail-end users, and to the reputation of the central bank.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, even after the manufacturing sector in Indonesia continued to expand in April, and at a faster rate, the latest survey from S&P Global showed on Wednesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 51.9. That's up from 51.3 in March and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line. This represented an eighth straight month of improving business conditions across the Indonesian manufacturing sector, with the rate of improvement the fastest since January.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 56558.56, down by 417.43 points or 0.73% after trading in a range of 56482.87 and 57184.21. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.66%, while Small cap index was down by 0.29%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 0.53%, Realty up by 0.09% and IT up by 0.03%, while Consumer Durables down by 2.22%, Healthcare down by 2.05%, Consumer discretionary down by 1.11%, Metal down by 1.08% and Basic Materials down by 0.80% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 2.42%, NTPC up by 1.59%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.75%, Indusind Bank up by 0.50% and ITC up by 0.38%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 2.72%, Sun Pharma down by 2.34%, Titan Co down by 2.32%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.21% and Reliance Industries down by 2.07% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Commerce and Industry Ministry in its latest data has indicated that India's merchandise exports rose by 24.22 percent to $38.19 billion in April 2022 as compared to $30.75 billion in April 2021 on account of healthy performance by sectors like petroleum products, electronic goods, and chemicals. India's merchandise imports in April 2022 rose to $58.26 billion from $46.04 billion recorded in April 2021, posting year-on-year growth of 26.55 per cent. The trade deficit in April 2022 widened to $20.07 billion from $15.29 billion recorded in the same month last year posting an increase of 31.23 per cent.

According to the data, the value of non-petroleum exports in April 2022 was $30.46 billion, registering a positive growth of 12.32% over non-petroleum exports of $27.12 billion in April 2021. Value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in April 2022 was $27.16 billion, registering a positive growth of 14.38% over non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of $23.74 billion in April 2021. Petroleum products (113.21%), Electronic goods (64.04%) and Chemicals (26.71%) led the way in high increase in exports during April, 2022.

Data further indicated that the value of non-petroleum imports was $38.75 billion in April 2022 with a positive growth of 9.87% over non-petroleum imports of $35.27 billion in April 2021. Value of non-oil, non-GJ (gold, silver & Precious metals) imports was $34.43 billion in April 2022 with a positive growth of 29.68% over non-oil and non-GJ imports of $26.55 billion in April 2021.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16940.55, down by 128.55 points or 0.75% after trading in a range of 16913.55 and 17132.85. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Britannia up by 4.75%, ONGC up by 3.23%, Power Grid up by 2.31%, NTPC up by 1.59% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.80%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital Ent. down by 4.84%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 2.78%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 2.73%, Sun Pharma down by 2.38% and Titan Co down by 2.35% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Straits Times trembled 2.68 points or 0.08% to 3,354.22, KOSPI fell 4.66 points or 0.17% to 2,675.80 and Hang Seng decreased 281.57 points or 1.33% to 20,820.32. On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 40.14 points or 0.24% to 16,539.04.