Domestic indices trade in fine-fettle in early deals; Nifty reclaims 16,100 mark

Rebounding from a huge selloff seen in the previous day, Indian equity benchmarks started Friday’s session on positive note tracking strength in Asian peers. Markets are trading in fine-fettle in early deals with gains of around 2% each on account of board based buying in all the sector indices led by Metal and Industrials stocks, which are trading higher with around 3% gains. Sentiments got a boost with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that India's economic growth is likely to be robust at 8.9 percent in the current financial year, reflecting the country's strong resilience and speedy recovery. Sitharaman also expressed confidence that India will continue to achieve a high growth rate in the next financial year as well. Adding more optimism, RBI data showed that bank credit grew by 10.82 per cent to Rs 120.46 lakh crore and deposits by 9.71 per cent to Rs 166.95 lakh crore in the fortnight ended May 6, 2022.

On the global front, all the Asian markets are trading higher, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders picked up stocks at a bargain after yesterday's sell-off and on expectations of improved supply-chain in the region amid signs of easing COVID-19 restrictions in China. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said consumer prices in Japan were up 2.5% on year in April. That exceeded expectations for an increase of 2.4% and was up sharply from 1.2% in March.

Back home, sugar industry stocks were in focus as Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said that sugar exports have risen by 64 per cent to 71 lakh tonnes during October 2021-April 2022 period as compared to 43.19 lakh tonnes of sugar exported during the corresponding period of the last year. In stock specific movement, Ashok Leyland jumped as it reported a 274% rise in fourth-quarter net profit. Besides, Prudent Corporate Advisory will list on bourses today, May 20. The issue price is fixed at Rs 630 a share. The issue had been subscribed 1.22 times.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 53797.07, up by 1004.84 points or 1.90% after trading in a range of 53403.29 and 53847.02. All the 30 stocks were advancing on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.69%, while Small cap index was up by 1.74%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.11%, Industrials up by 2.56%, Realty up by 2.55%, Auto up by 2.50%, Capital Goods up by 2.31%, while there was no loser on the BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 4.11%, Tata Steel up by 3.09%, Indusind Bank up by 2.94%, SBI up by 2.56% and Sun Pharma up by 2.46%.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed optimism over growth of Indian economy and said that the country’s economic growth is likely to be robust at 8.9 percent in the current financial year (2022-23), reflecting its strong resilience and speedy recovery.

Sitharaman also expressed confidence that India will continue to achieve a high growth rate in the next financial year as well. She underscored the importance of multilateralism and the spirit of global cooperation for economic recovery. She also emphasised that developing innovative financial products and services, and incentivising strategic investments are crucial to maximising development impact.

Besides, addressing the 7th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of New Development Bank (NDB), she acknowledged that NDB has successfully established itself as a reliable development partner for emerging market economies. She added NDB will play a significant and meaningful role in the development journey of its member countries in the decades to come.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16116.05, up by 306.65 points or 1.94% after trading in a range of 16003.85 and 16140.25. All the 50 stocks were advancing on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 5.15%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 4.08%, JSW Steel up by 4.05%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 3.71% and Tata Steel up by 3.15%.

All the Asian markets are trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 307.10 points or 1.16% to 26,709.94, Straits Times rose 43.69 points or 1.37% to 3,234.40, Hang Seng jumped 379.86 points or 1.89% to 20,500.54, Taiwan Weighted advanced 150.42 points or 0.94% to 16,170.74, KOSPI increased 45.71 points or 1.76% to 2,638.05, Jakarta Composite gained 111.24 points or 1.63% to 6,934.58 and Shanghai Composite was up by 34.44 points or 1.11% to 3,131.40.