Bourses add more points in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets added more points in late afternoon session. Larsen & Toubro, Sun Pharma and SBI were the prime gainers among heavy-weights, pushing the markets higher. Traders took support after private report stated that India cranked up Russian oil imports by 4.7 times in April - May, or by more than 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), year-on-year. Sector wise, pharmaceutical sector remain in focused, as rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that Indian pharmaceutical firms are likely to witness muted revenue growth from the US generics market in FY23 due to price erosion pressure. In scrip specific development, Larsen & Toubro traded with strength after reporting 47% rise in Q1 consolidated net profit. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green after Alphabet and Microsoft reported better-than-expected results, helping soothe investor worries over the economic outlook. European markets were trading higher, as market participants await the Fed's interest-rate decision later in the day.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55662.04, up by 393.55 points or 0.71% after trading in a range of 55157.99 and 55733.74. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.58%, while Small cap index was up by 0.32%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.73%, Healthcare up by 1.32%, PSU up by 1.18%, Industrials up by 1.08% and IT was up by 1.07%, while Telecom down by 0.95%, Power down by 0.37%, Utilities down by 0.27% and Auto was down by 0.12% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 2.65%, Sun Pharma up by 2.46%, SBI up by 2.39%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.27% and Asian Paints up by 1.94%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.58%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.90%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.71%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.58% and Nestle down by 0.34% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, listing various measures taken by the government to address inflation, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary has said that the price situation of major essential commodities is monitored by the Government on a regular basis and corrective action is taken from time to time.

The Minister gave more details about measures, noting that the Central Government on May 21, 2022 cut excise duty by Rs 8 per litre on petrol and Rs 6 per litre on diesel. Further, he said that reduction in import duties and cess on pulses, rationalisation of tariffs and imposition of stock limits on edible oils and oil seeds, maintenance of buffer stock for onion and pulses, the inclusion of soya meal as an essential commodity in the schedule of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 up to June 30, 2022 and imposition of stock limit on soya meal up to June 30, 2022 were carried out.

Besides, Chaudhary stated that soaring commodity prices and pandemic-induced supply-demand imbalances caused a rise in inflation rates worldwide including in India. The Minister also said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has exacerbated the inflationary pressures in crude oil, gas, and metals. Further, the onset of summer heat waves has led to crop damage and a rise in vegetable prices.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16596.65, up by 112.80 points or 0.68% after trading in a range of 16438.75 and 16617.20. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Larsen & Toubro up by 2.67%, Divi's Lab up by 2.37%, SBI up by 2.35%, Sun Pharma up by 2.35% and Ultratech Cement up by 2.33%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.62%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.47%, UPL down by 1.40%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.19% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.89% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 114.81 points or 0.78% to 14,921.59, Nikkei 225 surged 60.54 points or 0.22% to 27,715.75, Jakarta Composite soared 26.68 points or 0.39% to 6,898.22, Straits Times advanced 8.30 points or 0.26% to 3,200.42 and KOSPI was up by 2.57 points or 0.11% to 2,415.53. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 1.68 points or 0.05% to 3,275.76 and Hang Seng was down by 235.84 points or 1.13% to 20,670.04.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 31.15 points or 0.43% to 7,337.43, France’s CAC increased 23.61 points or 0.38% to 6,235.06 and Germany’s DAX was up by 7.29 points or 0.06% to 13,104.22.