Sensex, Nifty cut losses in late morning session

Indian equity benchmarks cut most of their losses in late morning session, on the back of heavy buying at Auto and Energy counters. Losses got trimmed, after Union Minister for MSME Narayan Rane has said under the able leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi MSME Ministry is committed to achieve the goals of holistic development and self-reliance of MSMEs. Adding some relief among traders, the electronics and IT ministry has approved a total of 314 applications with proposed investments of Rs 86,824 crore under a modified special incentive package scheme till May 31, 2022.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red, after Hong Kong's merchandise exports declined, while imports rose for the second straight month in May. The data from the Census and Statistics Department showed that exports fell 1.4 percent year-on-year in May, after a 1.1 percent increase in April. Imports increased 1.3 percent annually in May, after a 2.1 percent growth in the previous month.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 53026.11, down by 135.17 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 52771.53 and 53035.40. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.23%, while Small cap index was down by 0.18%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.08%, Energy up by 1.08%, Oil & Gas up by 0.94%, Metal up by 0.34% and PSU up by 0.32%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.59%, Telecom down by 1.05%, Realty down by 0.70%, Power down by 0.51% and Bankex down by 0.46% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.67%, Reliance Industries up by 1.07%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.00%, HCL Tech. up by 0.63% and SBI up by 0.59%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 3.29%, Titan Co down by 3.28%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.51%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.22% and HDFC down by 1.18% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President A Sakthivel has said that the proposed free trade agreements (FTAs), including with the UK, European Union and GCC would open new opportunities to boost India's exports in these markets. He said the government initiatives are helping the country record a healthy growth rate in exports.

To further boost exports, Sakthivel suggested that the government implement certain measures such as linking issuance of RoSCTL (Rebate of State & Central Taxes and Levies) and RoDTEP (Remissions of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products) with export realization for better value; and inclusion of sectors like iron and steel, pharma, and chemicals under the ambit of RoDTEP.

He also urged for a revised TMA (transport and marketing assistance) for the agri sector, solution on money stuck in export made to Sri Lanka, implementation of rupee payment system for export to Russia, and creation of MSME market promotion fund.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15807.25, down by 24.80 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 15710.15 and 15810.05. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 2.69%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.32%, Reliance Industries up by 1.10%, UPL up by 1.10% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.05%. On the flip side, Titan Co down by 3.40%, Asian Paints down by 3.38%, Divi's Lab down by 1.91%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.48% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.48% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 190.41 points or 0.86% to 22,039.11, Taiwan Weighted dropped 119.06 points or 0.77% to 15,428.95, Jakarta Composite lost 44.77 points or 0.64% to 6,971.29, Straits Times trembled 8.89 points or 0.28% to 3,128.65 and Shanghai Composite declined 2.11 points or 0.06% to 3,377.08. On the flip side, KOSPI rose 6.63 points or 0.28% to 2,408.55 and Nikkei 225 surged 82.12 points or 0.31% to 26,953.39.