Sensex, Nifty under grip of bulls

Indian equity benchmarks remained under a grip of bulls in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading on a strong note, tracking positive cues from other Asian markets. Domestic sentiments remained optimistic, after the Ministry of Commerce & Industry in its latest report showed that Singapore (27.01%) and USA (17.94%) have emerged as top 2 sourcing nations in FDI equity flows into India in FY2021-22 followed by Mauritius (15.98%), Netherland (7.86%) and Switzerland (7.31%).

Adding more comfort among traders, another report from the Ministry of Commerce & Industry stated that the overall (merchandise plus services) exports increased from USD 52.8 billion in June 2021 to USD 64.9 billion in June 2022.  The overall (merchandise plus services) imports increased from USD 52.9 billion in June 2021 to USD 82.4 billion in June 2022.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, even after consumer confidence in South Korea dropped significantly in July, the Bank of Korea said with a consumer confidence index score of 86.0 - down sharply from 96.4 in June. Consumer sentiment regarding current living standards was six points lower at 81, while the outlook was nine points lower at 79. Consumer sentiment related to future household income was four points lower at 93 and the outlook was two points lower at 112.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 56693.58, up by 877.26 points or 1.57% after trading in a range of 56236.45 and 56705.54. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.94%, while Small cap index was up by 0.84%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.43%, IT up by 2.18%, Realty up by 2.00%, TECK up by 1.92% and Bankex up by 1.37%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 9.74%, Bajaj Finserv up by 8.59%, Tata Steel up by 5.48%, Indusind Bank up by 3.56% and Infosys up by 2.64%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.09%, Sun Pharma down by 0.68%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.44%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.10% and ITC down by 0.05% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that India has not imposed any country-specific ban on imports. He said India and China, are both members of the WTO, and any trade restriction imposed must be WTO compliant. He said the government has from time to time reviewed and taken WTO compliant measures to address the concerns raised by various stakeholders to have a holistic global trade strategy.

However, the minister said as per the import policy of the government, all goods imported into India are subject to domestic laws, rules, orders, regulations, technical specifications, environment, and safety norms. He also said the government takes appropriate action including a ban on goods if these are found to violate these regulations or have implications for national security.

Further, Goyal said in order to support and expand domestic capacities, the government has implemented policies to promote domestic manufacturing like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes for various key sectors in line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat policy to reduce dependence on imports, with an estimated outlay of Rs 197,000 crore. In addition, to promote the semi-conductor industry, the government has formulated a scheme amounting to Rs 76,000 crore.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16885.95, up by 244.15 points or 1.47% after trading in a range of 16746.25 and 16890.35. There were 42 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 9.70%, Bajaj Finserv up by 8.78%, Tata Steel up by 5.48%, Indusind Bank up by 3.50% and JSW Steel up by 3.48%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.08%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.50%, Sun Pharma down by 0.49%, Cipla down by 0.40% and ITC down by 0.15% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 66.51 points or 0.24% to 27,782.26, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 20.53 points or 0.14% to 14,942.12, Jakarta Composite soared 66.75 points or 0.97% to 6,964.97, Shanghai Composite gained 18.66 points or 0.57% to 3,294.42, Straits Times advanced 5.49 points or 0.17% to 3,210.63 and KOSPI rose 18.50 points or 0.77% to 2,434.03. On the flip side, Hang Seng decreased 115.95 points or 0.56% to 20,554.09.