Markets trade higher amid choppy trade in late afternoon deals

Indian equity benchmarks were trading higher amid choppy trade in late afternoon deals on Tuesday, though selling pressure in Metal, Utilities, Power and Realty stocks kept the upside in check. FMCG, Bankex  and Auto shares pushed the headline indices higher, even as investors globally remained cautious over aggressive hikes in COVID-era interest rates. Sentiment got some support 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. However, broader markets weakened with BSE Mid cap down by 1.28% and Small cap down by 1.16%. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower on worries that higher rate increases in the United States might stall global growth. European markets were trading higher as global markets looked to rebound from a broad sell-off in recent days, prompted mainly by concerns over inflation and rising interest rates - and the potential for a global recession. Back home, in stock specific development, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries slipped after the company received 10 observations from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) after inspection of its Halol (Gujarat, India) facility.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 54789.99, up by 319.32 points or 0.59% after trading in a range of 54269.59 and 54857.02. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 1.28%, while Small cap index was down by 1.16%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 1.28%, Bankex up by 1.28%, Auto up by 0.53%, while Metal down by 4.12%, Utilities down by 3.30%, Power down by 3.04%, Realty down by 2.31%, Consumer Durables down by 1.67% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 3.76%, Asian Paints up by 3.17%, Indusind Bank up by 3.06%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.39% and HDFC Bank up by 2.27%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 5.22%, Sun Pharma down by 2.98%, NTPC down by 1.67%, Titan down by 0.90% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.88% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, seeking effective implementation of laws to protect consumer interests without harassment of businesses, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Textiles, and Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal has suggested a pragmatic approach to decriminalize laws and urged states to support the initiative to balance the interest of consumers with the need to simplify laws so that businesses, particularly the small enterprises, are not put to undue hardship.

Goyal further said that it’s significant to bring a transparent system in place so that people can do business with simplicity. He added that ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ shouldn’t only be a slogan. There should be consumer awareness campaigns. The consumers should be motivated to come forward with the complaints so as to benefit society as a whole.

Besides, the minister suggested making the process simple and said there should be a way of taking calibrated action against non-compliance wherever reported. He said investors should get the message that habitual offenders would not be spared, but the sincere businesses would not be unnecessarily harmed.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16363.80, up by 61.95 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 16243.50 and 16404.55. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 3.83%, Hindustan Unilever up by 3.69%, Eicher Motors up by 3.36%, Indusind Bank up by 2.99% and Ultratech Cement up by 2.46%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 5.56%, Coal India down by 5.54%, ONGC down by 4.43%, JSW Steel down by 4.02% and Hindalco down by 3.69% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly lower; Hang Seng decreased 368.27 points or 1.84% to 19,633.69, Straits Times trembled 39.94 points or 1.22% to 3,235.13, KOSPI fell 14.25 points or 0.55% to 2,596.56, Jakarta Composite lost 89.96 points or 1.30% to 6,819.79 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 31.70 points or 1.06% to 3,035.84.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 rose 56.69 points or 0.79% to 7,273.85, France’s CAC gained 74.31 points or 1.22% to 6,160.33 and Germany’s DAX was up by 237.18 points or 1.77% to 13,621.88.