Sensex, Nifty witnessing volatility

Indian equity benchmarks were witnessing volatility in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading marginally higher, on the back of mixed cues from other Asian markets. Indices were managing to trade in green, as a monthly survey said that India's manufacturing sector growth steadied in May, with new orders and production increasing at similar rates to those registered in the previous month, while demand showed signs of resilience and improved further despite another uptick in selling prices. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 54.6 in May, little changed from 54.7 in April, pointing to a sustained recovery across the sector.

However, there was volatility over the Dalal Street which kept gains limited, amid reports that India's annual per capita income at constant prices remained below the pre-COVID level at Rs 91,481 in 2021-22. However, the per capita income based on Net National Income (NNI) at constant price grew by 7.5 per cent in FY22 over the previous year.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, after the manufacturing sector in China continued to contract in May, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Caixin revealed on Wednesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 48.1. That's up from 46.0 in April, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55707.19, up by 140.78 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 55407.47 and 55791.49. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.27%, while Small cap index was up by 0.88%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 0.93%, Capital Goods up by 0.86%, Bankex up by 0.81%, Industrials up by 0.79% and Energy up by 0.62%, while Power down by 1.09%, Utilities down by 1.00%, Realty down by 0.62%, Auto down by 0.62% and Healthcare down by 0.41% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 1.89%, HDFC up by 0.99%, Asian Paints up by 0.86%, Axis Bank up by 0.85% and Tata Steel up by 0.82%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 2.23%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.43%, Sun Pharma down by 1.21%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.17% and Power Grid down by 1.07% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the growth of eight core infrastructure industries grew by 8.4 per cent in April 2022 as against 62.6 per cent expansion in the year-ago period, on the back of better performance by coal, refinery products and electricity segments. The growth in these eight sectors was 62.6 per cent in April last year due to a low base effect caused by pandemic-induced lockdowns. The Eight Core Industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity - comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Coal production having 10.33 per cent weight increased by 28.8 per cent in April, 2022 over April, 2021 and its cumulative index increased by 8.5per cent during April to March, 2021-22 over corresponding period of the previous year. Natural Gas production having 6.88 per cent weight increased by 6.4 per cent in April, 2022 over April, 2021 and its cumulative index increased by 19.2 per cent during April to March, 2021-22 over the corresponding period of previous year. Petroleum Refinery production having 28.04 per cent weight increased by 9.2 per cent in April, 2022 over April, 2021 and its cumulative index increased by 8.9 per cent during April to March, 2021-22over the corresponding period of previous year.

Fertilizers production having 2.63 per cent weight increased by8.7 per cent in April, 2022 over April, 2021 and ts cumulative index increased by 0.7 per cent during April to March, 2021-22 over the corresponding period of previous year. Cement production having 5.37 per cent weight increased by 8.0 per cent in April, 2022 over April, 2021 and its cumulative index increased by 20.8 per cent during April to March, 2021-22 over the corresponding period of previous year. Electricity generation having 19.85 per cent weight increased by 10.7per cent in April, 2022 over April, 2021 and its cumulative index increased by 8.0 per cent during April to March, 2021-22 over the corresponding period of previous year.

On the flip side, Crude Oil production having 8.98 per cent weight declined by 0.9 per cent in April, 2022 over April, 2021 and its cumulative index declined by 2.6 per cent during April to March, 2021-22over the corresponding period of previous year. Steel production having 17.92 per cent weight declined by 0.7 per cent in April, 2022 over April, 2021, while its cumulative index increased by 17.1 per cent during April to March, 2021-22 over the corresponding period of previous year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16606.45, up by 21.90 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 16537.90 and 16649.20. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 2.37%, NTPC up by 2.02%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.48%, Coal India up by 1.48% and Tata Consumer Products up by 1.43%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital Ent. down by 3.05%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.80%, Hindalco down by 2.67%, Britannia down by 2.05% and Nestle down by 1.61% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Shanghai Composite declined 4.32 points or 0.14% to 3,182.11, Taiwan Weighted dropped 91.89 points or 0.55% to 16,715.88 and Hang Seng decreased 147.45 points or 0.69% to 21,267.75. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 190.28 points or 0.7% to 27,470.08 and Straits Times advanced 17.63 points or 0.55% to 3,250.12.