Bourses continue to trade in positive terrain

Indian stock markets continued to trade in positive terrain in the noon session due to buying in Auto, FMCG and Bankex stocks. Buying in frontline stocks such as Ultratech Cement, Hindustan Unilever and Maruti Suzuki were aiding sentiment, while selling in Sun Pharma, Tata Steel and Titan kept the gains in the markets in check. Traders remain energized as private report stated that improving business sentiment has boosted the overall hiring demand which witnessed a 15 per cent year-on-year growth in April, led by banking, financial services and insurance sector as well as recovery in the retail sector. Investors also got support with private report stating that the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Britain’s largest business organisation, and its Indian counterpart, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), have agreed to set up a new joint commission to increase cross-industry collaboration and to push the trade deal over the line. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower as fears increased that U.S. rate hikes to fight inflation might stall economic growth.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 54779.95, up by 309.28 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 54269.59 and 54814.05. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.78%, while Small cap index was down by 0.33%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.20%, FMCG up by 1.08%, Bankex up by 0.75%, Telecom up by 0.45% and Capital Goods was up by 0.29%, while Utilities down by 1.87%, Metal down by 1.74%, Power down by 1.67%, Consumer Durables down by 1.65% and Realty was down by 1.15% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 2.63%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.35%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.32%, Asian Paints up by 2.18% and Indusind Bank was up by 1.99%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 3.07%, Tata Steel down by 2.83%, Titan Co down by 1.25%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.72% and Infosys was down by 0.41% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India has initiated an anti-dumping probe against imports of a certain type of optical fiber from China, Indonesia, and South Korea following a complaint by a domestic player. The duty is aimed at protecting domestic industry from cheap imports. The commerce ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) is probing the alleged dumping of 'Dispersion Unshifted Single-mode Optical Fibre' originating in or exported from these three nations.

The product is used for the manufacture of different kinds of cables, including optical fiber, tight buffer cables, and armored and un-armored cables. Single-mode optical fiber is mainly applied to high-data-rate, long-distance, and access network transportation. Birla Furukawa Fibre Optics has filed an application on behalf of the domestic industry for the initiation of an anti-dumping investigation.

The DGTR in a notification has stated that the applicant has alleged that material injury is being caused to the domestic industry due to the dumped imports from these countries. The directorate said, based on the duly substantiated written application by the domestic industry, and having satisfied itself, based on the prima facie evidence submitted by the domestic industry about the dumping...the authority hereby initiates an investigation. If it is established that the dumping has caused material injury to the domestic players, the DGTR would recommend the imposition of anti-dumping duty on these imports. The finance ministry takes the final decision to impose the duties.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16390.85, up by 89.00 points or 0.55% after trading in a range of 16243.50 and 16400.05. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 3.17%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.74%, Asian Paints up by 2.47%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.45% and Indusind Bank was up by 2.38%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 3.34%, Tata Steel down by 2.93%, Coal India down by 2.84%, Sun Pharma down by 2.48% and Apollo Hospital was down by 2.02% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly lower; Hang Seng decreased 449.98 points or 2.25% to 19,551.98, Straits Times trembled 41.51 points or 1.27% to 3,233.56, KOSPI fell 14.25 points or 0.55% to 2,596.56, Jakarta Composite lost 199.98 points or 2.89% to 6,709.77 and Nikkei 225 was down by 152.24 points or 0.58% to 26,167.10.

On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 12.78 points or 0.08% to 16,061.70 and Shanghai Composite was up by 23.55 points or 0.78% to 3,027.69.