Sensex, Nifty remain higher in late morning session

Indian equity benchmarks remained higher in late morning session, on the back of positive cues from other Asian markets. Sentiments remained upbeat, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its article has said that improving infrastructure, ensuring low and stable inflation, and maintaining macroeconomic stability is critical for reviving animal spirits and spurring growth. It noted that the Indian economy consolidated its recovery, with most constituents surpassing pre-pandemic levels of activity.

However, gains remained capped, after S&P Global Ratings cut India's growth projection for the current fiscal to 7.3 percent from 7.8 percent earlier on rising inflation and the longer-than-expected Russia-Ukraine conflict. In its Global Macro Update to Growth Forecasts, S&P said inflation remaining higher for a long is a worry, which requires central banks to raise rates more than what is currently priced in, risking a harder landing, including a larger hit to output and employment.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, even after Japan's gross domestic product contracted an annualized 1.0 percent in the first quarter of 2022, the Cabinet Office said in Wednesday's preliminary reading. That exceeded expectations for a decline of 1.8 percent following the downwardly revised 3.8 percent increase in the previous three months (originally 5.4 percent).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 54588.74, up by 270.27 points or 0.50% after trading in a range of 54409.53 and 54786.00. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.54%, while Small cap index was up by 0.91%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.70%, Power up by 1.66%, FMCG up by 0.79%, Consumer discretionary up by 0.78% and Industrials up by 0.77%, while PSU down by 0.56%, Realty down by 0.51% and Oil & Gas down by 0.04% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 1.79%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.68%, Asian Paints up by 1.64%, Sun Pharma up by 1.46% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.43%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 2.70%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.11%, SBI down by 0.65%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.35% and NTPC down by 0.23% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways General V K Singh has said that the construction equipment (CE) industry must be prepared for the competitive market situation and focus on Industry 4.0 for revamping itself.

The minister said India is an emerging hub for construction equipment, component outsourcing base and design base. He also said the private players in the construction industry must concentrate on automation, adoption of advanced technologies and global best practices, usage of alternate fuels, and innovations in using waste materials as raw materials for their construction projects to diminish the cost of construction and rate of pollution.

Singh further said that infrastructure must be sustainable and the industry should take measures to enhance the quality at an affordable life cycle cost. He said ‘India is working hard on hydrogen fuel technology and solar energy since we consider it as the future of the country’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16345.20, up by 85.90 points or 0.53% after trading in a range of 16278.40 and 16399.80. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Consumer Products up by 3.03%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.60%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.95%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.93% and Cipla up by 1.71%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 2.72%, Apollo Hospital Ent. down by 1.52%, BPCL down by 1.31%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.00% and SBI down by 0.65% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted strengthened 209.53 points or 1.3% to 16,265.62, Nikkei 225 surged 167.73 points or 0.63% to 26,827.48, Jakarta Composite soared 46.16 points or 0.69% to 6,690.63, Straits Times advanced 27.03 points or 0.84% to 3,228.92 and KOSPI rose 0.77 points or 0.03% to 2,621.21. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 11.58 points or 0.37% to 3,082.12 and Hang Seng decreased 130.98 points or 0.64% to 20,471.54.