Bourses trim gains in late afternoon session

The Indian equity benchmarks trimmed most of their gains but managed to remain in green territory in late afternoon session. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were trading above one and half percent. Traders found some support after commerce ministry said India's merchandise exports surged 30.7 per cent to $40.19 billion in April on account of healthy performance by sectors like petroleum products, electronic goods and chemicals, even as trade deficit widened to $20.11 billion during the month. In scrip specific, State Bank of India traded lower despite reporting a rise of 37.46% in its net profit at Rs 9,993.76 crore for fourth quarter and year ended March 31, 2022 as compared to Rs 7,270.25 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green and European markets were trading higher after the latest U.S. consumer and producer price inflation data confirmed a slowdown in inflation. There is a broad sense among market participants that larger 75-bps U.S. rate hikes are off the table for now.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 53,026.05, up by 95.74 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 53109.33 and 53785.71. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 1.65%, while Small cap index was up by 1.86%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 3.21%, Industrials up by 2.51%, FMCG up by 2.16%, Consumer Discretionary up by 1.86% and Consumer Durables was up by 1.83%, while Metal down by 1.54%, Telecom down by 1.05%, Bankex down by 0.41%, Basic Materials down by 0.27% and Utilities was down by 0.07% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 3.77%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.32%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.84%, Titan Company up by 2.70% and ITC up by 2.41%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 1.99%, ICICI Bank down by 1.72%, Axis Bank down by 1.57%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.39% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, highlighting the various initiatives and reforms being undertaken by the Government of India to further improve the ease of doing business, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines, Prahlad Joshi has said that exports play a crucial role in realizing Atmanirbhar Bharat.

The minister further highlighted the significant milestones achieved in the form of the record high annual exports of goods and services in the current year of around $ 674 billion and finally delineated the immense advantages of the State of Karnataka.

Meanwhile, the Department of Commerce organized a Stakeholders’ Outreach Programme on India-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA).

States outreach programmes are part of series of concerted and coordinated efforts being made by the Department of Commerce, Government of India, to sensitize and create awareness amongst exporters across the country on the conducive platform and the favourable trade ecosystem that is being created with conclusion of these landmark Trade Agreements with partners countries exhibiting significant trade complementarities with India.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15,838.40, up by 30.40 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 15860.20 and 16083.60. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 8.54%, Sun Pharma up by 3.59%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.20%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.91% and UPL up by 2.83%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 3.75%, JSW Steel down by 3.48%, ICICI Bank down by 1.98%, Axis Bank down by 1.90% and NTPC down by 1.88% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Nikkei 225 surged 678.93 points or 2.64% to 26,427.65, Hang Seng increased 518.43 points or 2.68% to 19,898.77, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 215.86 points or 1.38% to 15,832.54, KOSPI rose 54.16 points or 2.12% to 2,604.24, Shanghai Composite gained 29.29 points or 0.96% to 3,084.28 and Straits Times was up by 28.29 points or 0.89% to 3,193.47. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was down by 1.85 points or 0.03% to 6,597.99.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 95.94 points or 1.33% to 7,329.28, France’s CAC increased 72.77 points or 1.17% to 6,279.03 and Germany’s DAX was up by 165.55 points or 1.2% to 13,905.19.