Sensex, Nifty continue to trade in positive terrain

Indian stock markets continued to trade in positive terrain in noon session with Sensex and Nifty trading above 55500 and 16550 levels respectively. Sentiments were upbeat as Icra Ratings in its report has said that manufacturing sector capital expenditure is on course for a leg-up with overwhelming responses to the government's production-linked incentives schemes, especially for lithium-ion battery, pharma and solar module segments. However, upside remain capped as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were stood as net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,930.16 crore, exchange data showed. On the sectoral front, oil stocks were in focus as price pressures were eased by a drop in crude following a report saying Saudi Arabia had indicated it was willing to pump more if Russia was unable to fulfil pledges to boost production. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower, as traders grow increasingly worried that central bank moves to rein in inflation could tip economies into recession.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55539.93, up by 158.76 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 55135.11 and 55645.88. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.74%, while Small cap index was up by 0.11%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.26%, IT up by 1.08%, TECK up by 1.00%, Oil & Gas up by 0.95% and Utilities was up by 0.35%, while FMCG down by 0.81%, Auto down by 0.67%, Healthcare down by 0.51%, Capital Goods down by 0.38% and Bankex was down by 0.36% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 2.66%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.12%, TCS up by 1.73%, Infosys up by 1.15% and Nestle was up by 1.05%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.13%, Power Grid down by 1.77%, HDFC down by 1.52%, HDFC Bank down by 0.99% and ICICI Bank was down by 0.97% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Seeking to further increase private participation, Principal Scientific Advisor Ajay Kumar Sood has said that the government will soon unveil a new space policy that could see the rise of India's own ‘SpaceX-like ventures’. He said consultations have taken place and the final version of the space policy would soon be referred to the Empowered Technology Group for further examin?Aion.

Sood said the government will encourage manufacturing of satellites in the private sector for a range of applications from health care, agriculture to urban development and property tax estimation. He said ‘we have not tapped the full potential of this sector. In 2022, the space sector is witnessing what the information technology sector experienced in the 1990s. We will have our own SpaceX in the next two years.’

He further said there were immense opportunities for use of space technology for the benefit of humankind but there were limitations on what Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) could do. He said ‘new launch vehicles are being developed, new fuels for spacecraft are being developed and this will connect the unconnected and that is the theme connect the unconnected that will happen when we open up the space sector.’ With the opening up of the space sector, he stated that there could be dedicated satellites for various sectors such as agriculture, education, disaster management, e-commerce applications.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16551.25, up by 28.50 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 16443.05 and 16586.05. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Reliance Industries up by 2.63%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.31%, TCS up by 1.74%, Infosys up by 1.31% and Nestle up by 1.12%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 5.46%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.90%, SBI Life Insurance down by 2.38%, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.12% and Power Grid Corp was down by 1.75% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly lower, KOSPI fell 26.91 points or 1% to 2,658.99, Straits Times trembled 14.03 points or 0.43% to 3,229.97, Jakarta Composite lost 6.98 points or 0.1% to 7,141.99, Nikkei 225 slipped 44.01 points or 0.16% to 27,413.88, Hang Seng decreased 245.56 points or 1.15% to 21,049.38 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 122.52 points or 0.73% to 16,552.57.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was up by 12.43 points or 0.39% to 3,194.59.