Local equities wipe out opening gains to trade tad lower in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made slightly positive start on Wednesday on account of bargain hunting as some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels after three consecutive session of fall. But, soon markets wiped out gains and slipped into negative terrain in early deals due to selling in Capital Goods, FMCG and IT stocks. Traders turned worried as data released by the RBI showed that India's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) nearly halved to $3.39 billion in April on an annual basis. The OFDI stood at $6.71 billion in April 2021. Some cautiousness came in with a private report that the goods and services tax (GST) council is mulling a 28 per cent tax on crypto currencies, at par with the current GST on casinos, betting and lottery. Traders took note of a report that Commerce and industry ministers of India and Oman will hold a meeting on May 11, 2022 to discuss ways to further boost economic ties between the two countries.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, following the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street, as some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels after the recent sell-off in global markets. Traders also were wary about persistent inflation, higher interest rates and the outlook for the global economy. Back home, power stocks were in focus with ICRA’s report that the government measures to ease power supply constraints through higher coal imports are likely to increase cost of supply for discoms by 4.5-5.0 per cent in 2022-23. In scrip specific development, Gujarat Gas soared as it posted a 28% Y-o-Y growth in its consolidated net profit at Rs 444.39 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2022.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 54302.68, down by 62.17 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 54296.32 and 54598.55. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.22%, while Small cap index was down by 0.55%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.91%, Power up by 1.88%, Oil & Gas up by 1.46%, Energy up by 1.03%, Metal up by 0.57%, while Capital Goods down by 0.91%, FMCG down by 0.76%, IT down by 0.59%, Consumer discretionary down by 0.49%, Consumer Durables down by 0.47% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 1.80%, HDFC up by 0.97%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.95%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.82% and ICICI Bank up by 0.72%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.76%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.30%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.30%, Infosys down by 0.96% and Indusind Bank down by 0.92% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest report showed that India's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) nearly halved to $3398.92 million in April on an annual basis. The OFDI stood at $6714.89 million in April 2021.

On sequential basis too, the outward investment from India in April was lower compared to $3446.01 million in March 2022. Of the $3398.92 million OFDI, the equity component was $544.87 million and loans amounted to $764.25 million.

Indian companies issued guarantees worth $2089.80 million in April 2022, as compared to $3643.56 million in April 2021. The Reserve Bank of India further said the data is provisional and subject to change based on online reporting by banks.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16217.95, down by 22.10 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 16217.70 and 16318.75. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.93%, UPL up by 1.68%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.54%, ONGC up by 0.87% and HDFC up by 0.67%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 2.39%, Shree Cement down by 1.66%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.50%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.48% and Cipla down by 1.22% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 rose 88.03 points or 0.34% to 26,255.13, Hang Seng jumped 332.85 points or 1.70% to 19,966.54, Jakarta Composite surged 55.87 points or 0.82% to 6,875.66 and Shanghai Composite was up by 49.59 points or 1.63% to 3,085.43. On the other hand, Straits Times lost 21.00 points or 0.65% to 3,213.19, Taiwan Weighted fell 7.85 points or 0.05% to 16,053.85 and KOSPI edged down by 2.12 points or 0.08% to 2,594.44.