Benchmarks continue to trade higher in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade higher in morning deals, on account of buying in frontline blue chip counters. The sentiments were upbeat as Retailers Association of India (RAI) in its latest survey stated that retail businesses across India grew 23 per cent in April 2022 in terms of sales as compared to pre-pandemic levels of the same month in 2019 with customers coming back to stores. Some support also came 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. However, there was some cautiousness too with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed that India’s forex reserves declined by $1.774 billion to $595.954 billion for the week ended May 6 on the back of a fall in the core currency assets.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as investors eyed surging energy costs and prospects for interest rate hikes in the US. Back home, Tourism industry’s stocks remained in watch as Union Tourism and Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy said that the government is working towards a comprehensive national tourism policy to give an impetus to the tourism industry. Besides, 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.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 53234.44, up by 440.82 points or 0.83% after trading in a range of 52632.48 and 53428.28. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.30%, while Small cap index was up by 1.02%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.59%, Metal up by 2.35%, Auto up by 1.94%, Telecom up by 1.90% and Bankex up by 1.63%, while FMCG down by 0.13% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 2.86%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.49%, SBI up by 2.37%, Titan Company up by 2.28% and Bajaj Finance up by 2.24%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.31%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.10%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.78%, Nestle down by 0.66% and ITC down by 0.58% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) in its latest report has said 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. However, it said the jobs that became available were inadequate compared to the demand. India's labour force increased by 8.8 million to 437.2 million in April. The country's labour market was at 428.4 million in March.

It mentioned that in 2021-22, the average monthly increase in the country's labour force was 0.2 million. The report said that an 8.8 million increase in labour force participation was only possible if some working-age people who were out of jobs joined the working population in April. This is because the working-age population cannot grow by more than two million per month and any rise beyond that implies that those who were out of jobs returned to the workforce. It may be useful to note that the 8.8 million increase in April comes after a 12 million fall during the preceding three months.

It stated the labour market is dynamic with the workforce moving in and out, presumably depending upon the demand at a given point of time. The increase in employment in April was in the industry and in services. The industry added 5.5 million jobs and services added another 6.7 million jobs. Moreover, it said within the industry, 3 million jobs were generated in manufacturing, while construction added nearly 4 million opportunities. Employment in the agricultural sector fell by 5.2 million.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15923.45, up by 141.30 points or 0.90% after trading in a range of 15739.65 and 15977.95. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 6.10%, Apollo Hospital up by 2.93%, JSW Steel up by 2.91%, Tata Steel up by 2.78% and Maruti Suzuki up by 2.54%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.04%, Shree Cement down by 0.95%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.95%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.82% and Nestle down by 0.77% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 73.65 points or 0.37% to 19,825.12, Shanghai Composite declined 15.80 points or 0.51% to 3,068.48 and KOSPI fell 1.69 points or 0.06% to 2,602.55.

On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 75.13 points or 0.47% to 15,907.67 and Nikkei 225 surged 120.52 points or 0.46% to 26,548.17.