Markets trade firm in early deals; Metal stocks shine

Indian equity benchmarks made cautious start on Monday amid mixed Asian cues. But, soon markets gained traction and traded firm in early deals with gains of around a percent each. Buying in all the sector indices aided the sentiments. Traders took encouragement with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the comprehensive trade agreement between India and the UAE will help in creating huge job opportunities and boost growth of the domestic economy. The bilateral pact is expected to increase the bilateral trade in goods to over $100 billion and trade in services to over $15 billion within five years. Some support also came in as data provided by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed that in one of the largest expansions in the labour market since the beginning of the pandemic, 8.8 million people joined the country's workforce in April. Meanwhile, investors are closely monitoring the wholesale price index (WPI) reading for April.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as traders picked up stocks at a bargain after last week's sell off amid cautious trading. Traders continue to be concerned about persistent inflation, looming interest rate hikes, Ukraine war and the COVID-19 lockdowns in China. The Bank of Japan said producer prices in Japan spiked a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent on month in April. Markets in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand are closed for Wesak Day holiday.

Back home, insurance industry stocks were in focus as data from IRDAI showed the gross premium income of non-life insurance companies grew nearly 24 per cent to Rs 21,326.58 crore in April. The non-life insurance companies had a gross premium business worth Rs 17,251.10 crore in April 2021. In scrip specific development, Ambuja Cements and ACC surged after the Adani Group won the race to acquire Switzerland-based Holcim's entire stake in the companies.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 53248.39, up by 454.77 points or 0.86% after trading in a range of 52632.48 and 53323.94. There were 23 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.06%, while Small cap index was up by 1.09%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.42%, Telecom up by 1.68%, Utilities up by 1.64%, Power up by 1.60%, Auto up by 1.46%, while there was no losers on the BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Company up by 2.63%, Tata Steel up by 2.52%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.21%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.90% and SBI up by 1.88%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.93%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.96%, Nestle down by 0.43%, Power Grid down by 0.17% and Infosys down by 0.09% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the comprehensive trade agreement between India and the UAE will help in creating huge job opportunities and boost growth of the domestic economy. The bilateral pact is likely to increase the bilateral trade in goods to over $100 billion and trade in services to over $15 billion within five years. It came into effect from May 1. The agreement opens the door for many sectors, particularly labour-intensive ones such as textiles, gems and jewellery, pharmaceuticals and agriculture.

The ministers launched ‘India-UAE Start-up Bridge’ at the India-UAE Partnership Summit. The India UAE Start Up bridge is part of CEPA to strengthen collaboration to promote startups through exchange of best practices, and strengthened relations between accelerators, incubators, and other such ecosystem stakeholders. The bridge will act as a one-stop platform where information regarding the Indian and UAE startup ecosystem will be easily accessible to entrepreneurs and stakeholders from both countries.

He added that the pact would not only open doors for Indian businesses to the UAE but also to other countries as well as UAE is a transit point for large parts of Africa, CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries, and the Gulf region. CIS countries include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, and Tajikistan. Further, Goyal said Indian pharma products will get immediate access to the UAE market as CEPA has given a pathway for fast-track approval for these products in the UAE.

According to the minister, the framework is expected to add a million jobs in India and provide opportunities to the startup ecosystem in the country and has huge potential for engagement on skill development and education. He noted that there are a large number of startups which have emerged in the last six years, with more than 65,000 registered with the ministry. He added India also has over 100 unicorns with the third largest startup ecosystem in the world.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15926.80, up by 144.65 points or 0.92% after trading in a range of 15739.65 and 15947.90. There were 42 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 4.45%, JSW Steel up by 3.77%, Apollo Hospital up by 3.42%, Tata Steel up by 2.78% and Titan Company up by 2.63%. On the flip side, Shree Cement down by 2.99%, Ultratech Cement down by 2.03%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.98%, Nestle down by 0.53% and Tata Motors down by 0.27% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng slipped 73.65 points or 0.37% to 19,825.12, KOSPI fell 7.18 points or 0.28% to 2,597.06 and Shanghai Composite was down by 15.80 points or 0.51% to 3,068.48. On the other hand, Nikkei 225 surged 117.53 points or 0.44% to 26,545.18 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 64.91 points or 0.41% to 15,897.45.