Indian equities continue lackadaisical trade

Indian bourses continued to trade in red terrain in noon session with Sensex and Nifty trading down by 327 and 95 points respectively. Sentiments were fragile as foreign investors have sold Indian equities worth $1.82 billion so far this month, shedding stocks worth $374 million in the fourth straight day of net selling on May 10. Selling further crept with data released by the RBI showing 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. On sequential basis too, the outward investment from India in April was lower compared to $3.44 billion in March 2022. Investors were keeping an eye on US inflation data which is going to release today for more cues on the Federal Reserve's rate hike plans. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed following a volatile day on Wall Street that had investors concerned about surging inflation and sent global oil prices retreating. Back home, logistics major Delhivery has raised Rs 2,346 crore from 64 anchor investors. The firm allotted nearly 48.2 million shares at Rs 487 apiece, the upper end of its IPO price band. The anchor book saw nearly 10 times more demand than the shares on offer.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 54037.05, down by 327.80 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 53764.42 and 54598.55. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.55%, while Small cap index was down by 1.95%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.23%, Oil & Gas up by 0.10%, while IT down by 1.42%, FMCG down by 1.37%, Capital Goods down by 1.18%, Industrials down by 1.11%, Consumer Discretionary was down by 1.10% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 0.94%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.77%, Axis Bank up by 0.68%, ICICI Bank up by 0.47% and Mahindra & Mahindra was up by 0.41%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.28%, ITC down by 2.10%, Infosys down by 2.05%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.03% and Asian Paints was down by 1.78% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Crisil Ratings in its latest report has said that demand for housing is expected to stay firm, despite an increase in property prices as wells as the interest rates on loans. It said the housing demand in the top six cities is expected to grow by 5-10 per cent, and the increase will be visible despite a high base.

The agency estimated that housing demand rose by 33-38 per cent in FY22, surpassing pre-Covid-19 levels. It said the high growth was recorded on a low base of FY21, when demand had fallen by up to one-fourth. It also said affordability had started declining from the second half of FY22, after improving up to 20 per cent between fiscals 2016 and 2021 and the second half of FY22.

According to the report, higher capital values, interest rates, reinstatement of stamp duty and the high-base effect were major headwinds for the sector. It expects residential real estate prices to rise 6-10 per cent across the top six cities this fiscal due to a steep rise in material costs and relatively favourable demand-supply dynamics, especially for established developers. It noted that inventory levels in majority of the top six cities are at a comfortable 2-4 years as against 3-5.5 years before the COVID-19 pandemic and the correction happened because of fewer launches in the past two years owing to the pandemic, and slower sales momentum.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16145.40, down by 94.65 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 16071.20 and 16318.75. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.66%, ONGC up by 1.46%, SBI Life Insurance up by 1.07%, Tata Consumer Products up by 0.90% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was up by 0.88%. On the flip side, Shree Cement down by 2.80%, Infosys down by 2.04%, Larsen & Toubro down by 2.04%, ITC down by 2.00% and Hindustan Unilever was down by 1.96% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng increased 329.58 points or 1.68% to 19,963.27, Jakarta Composite soared 40.81 points or 0.6% to 6,860.60, Nikkei 225 surged 46.54 points or 0.18% to 26,213.64 and Shanghai Composite was up by 45.97 points or 1.51% to 3,081.81.

On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 21.44 points or 0.66% to 3,212.75, KOSPI fell 4.36 points or 0.17% to 2,592.20 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 55.45 points or 0.35% to 16,006.25.