Sensex, Nifty add some gains in late morning session

Indian equity benchmarks added some gains in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading in green terrain, despite negative cues from other Asian markets. Sentiments were optimistic, as commerce and industry ministers of India and Oman will hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss ways to further boost economic ties between the two countries.

Besides, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said with licence quota raj prevailing during the 70 years of Congress regime, the policy change brought in by the central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created new opportunities for the private sector by allowing them to manufacture products that were normally made by public sector units (PSUs).

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, even after relaxation of Covid-19-related restrictions helped Indonesia's economy register a steady pace of growth in the first quarter. The official data revealed that gross domestic product grew 5.01 percent from the last year, following a 5.02 percent rise in the fourth quarter of 2021.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 54578.78, up by 108.11 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 54269.59 and 54644.06. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.91%, while Small cap index was down by 0.42%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.02%, FMCG up by 0.73%, Telecom up by 0.45% and Bankex up by 0.29%, while Consumer Durables down by 2.07%, Utilities down by 1.89%, Metal down by 1.73%, Power down by 1.68% and Realty down by 1.12% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 2.28%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.22%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.21%, Asian Paints up by 1.79% and HDFC up by 1.78%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 2.98%, Sun Pharma down by 2.15%, Titan Co down by 1.70%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.99% and Wipro down by 0.56% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Domestic ratings agency India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has revised up its outlook on the commercial realty for FY23, saying the full resumption in the economic activities can revive demand for the sector. The outlook has been raised to ‘improving’ for FY23, from ‘neutral’ in FY22, anticipating an improvement in performance.

According to the report, the impact of the third Covid wave has receded and the relaxation in COVID-19 restrictions has led to resumption of offices in the hybrid mode and retail spaces opening steadily, which will lead to a gradual recovery and growth of the sector. Stating that there was a pick-up in leasing activity observed in the December 2021 quarter, it said it expects a 10-15 per cent jump in office leasing in FY23.

The report further said new leasing activity had declined to 25 million square feet (msf) in FY21 from 37 msf in FY20 on account of the remote working regime during the Covid-led crisis. However, leasing activities picked up in FY22, especially from the third quarter, and was at around 28 msf, registering a 12 per cent growth. It said rentals for office spaces in FY22 remained steady, with the resumption of economic activities post opening up of lockdown and there is a shift to Grade A realtors. It noted that the demand will also be driven by strong hiring across sectors like information technology, banking and insurance, telecom, pharma, retail, education, e-commerce, consulting and analytics, manufacturing, research and real estate.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16324.20, up by 22.35 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 16243.50 and 16352.50. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 3.38%, SBI Life Insurance up by 2.25%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.22%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.18% and Hindustan Unilever up by 2.09%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 3.76%, Tata Steel down by 2.99%, Coal India down by 2.95%, Apollo Hospital Ent. down by 2.69% and Sun Pharma down by 2.30% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted dropped 13.70 points or 0.09% to 16,035.22, Jakarta Composite lost 199.98 points or 2.89% to 6,709.77, Straits Times trembled 43.11 points or 1.32% to 3,231.96, KOSPI fell 15.65 points or 0.6% to 2,595.16, Nikkei 225 slipped 139.52 points or 0.53% to 26,179.82 and Hang Seng decreased 565.23 points or 2.83% to 19,436.73. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite gained 5.08 points or 0.17% to 3,009.22.