Benchmarks remain in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green in morning deals, led by gains in Telecom, Capital Goods and Realty stocks. Traders took some support with rating agency ICRA’s report stated that the growth in assets under management (AUM) of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs) is likely to be at 9-11 per cent in FY23 compared to a rise of 9.5 per cent in the last fiscal. Some support also came as the labor ministry indicated that retirement fund body EPFO added 16.82 lakh, new subscribers, in May 2022, nearly 83 percent more than 9.2 lakh enrolled in the year-ago month. Besides, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers on Wednesday, picking up shares worth Rs 1,780.94 crore.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as investors globally remained cautious on steep hikes in COVID-era interest rates and their impact on economic growth. Traders also remained cautious ahead of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision later today. Back home, sugar stocks remained in focus with a private report that India may allow sugar mills to export more than previously permitted to help them prevent contract defaults.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55516.64, up by 119.11 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 55270.75 and 55591.10. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.79%, while Small cap index was up by 0.69%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.58%, Capital Goods up by 1.08%, Realty up by 0.85%, Industrials up by 0.84% and TECK up by 0.73%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.05% and Energy down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 4.96%, Infosys up by 1.02%, Nestle up by 0.95%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.89% and Bajaj Finserv up by 0.85%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.09%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.97%, Reliance Industries down by 0.72%, HDFC Bank down by 0.23% and NTPC down by 0.07% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Steel Faggan Singh Kulaste has said the exports of finished steel from India jumped over 25 per cent to 13.49 million tonne (MT) in 2021-22. During the preceding 2020-21 fiscal, the exports stood at 10.78 MT. Further, Kulaste said the imports fell to 4.67 MT in 2021-22 from 4.75 MT a year ago, a fall of 1.68 per cent.

He stated government has taken various steps to increase the availability of iron ore and make them available at reasonable prices, which, inter-alia, including Mining and Mineral Policy reforms to enhance production/availability of iron ore. In the Union Budget 2022-23, the basic customs duty (BCD) on steel scrap has been exempted up to March 31, 2023.

The government also made modifications in tariffs on raw materials of steel and other steel products vide notification dated May 21, 2022, wherein import duty on anthracite/pulverised coal injection (PCI) coal, coke and semicoke and ferronickel has been reduced to zero. Export duty on iron ores/concentrates and iron ore pellets has been raised to 50 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively, and a 15 per cent export duty has been imposed on pig iron.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16559.80, up by 38.95 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 16483.90 and 16578.45. There were 41 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 4.90%, Hindalco up by 2.13%, UPL up by 1.61%, Tata Consumer Products up by 1.50% and Adani Ports &SEZ up by 1.37%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.09%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.13%, Reliance Industries down by 0.81%, SBI Life Insurance down by 0.76% and HDFC Bank down by 0.19% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Shanghai Composite declined 13.92 points or 0.42% to 3,290.80, Straits Times trembled 22.61 points or 0.71% to 3,147.68, Jakarta Composite lost 54.09 points or 0.79% to 6,820.65 and Hang Seng decreased 285.39 points or 1.37% to 20,604.83.

On the flip side, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 136.23 points or 0.92% to 14,869.45, Nikkei 225 surged 41.83 points or 0.15% to 27,722.09 and KOSPI rose 17.72 points or 0.74% to 2,404.57.