Bourses continue to trade in green

Benchmarks continued to trade in green in late morning deals on the back of buying by funds and retail investors. Markets shrugged off weak global cues as investors weigh the impact of aggressive interest rate hikes from major central banks on growth. Traders got some support as the Retirement fund body, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in its latest ‘Provisional Estimate of Net Payroll’ data report has showed that India created 1694211 new jobs in the month of August 2022.  On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen piling up position in Bankex, PSU, Telecom, Healthcare and Consumer Durables, while selling was witnessed in Metal, Power, Utilities, Energy and Capital Goods.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red following the broadly negative cues from the US markets overnight, with traders remaining cautious as concerns about the outlook for interest rates continue to drive global yields higher. Back home, there was some buzz in coal industry stocks as Coal minister Pralhad Joshi said that the import of dry fuel which has declined considerably will be stopped by 2024. In stock specific development, Axis Bank surged after it posted 70 per cent YoY rise in standalone net profit to Rs 5,329.7 crore in Q2FY23.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59480.55, up by 277.65 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 59342.76 and 59549.66. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.05%, while Small cap index up by 0.15%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.76%, PSU up by 0.67%, Telecom up by 0.65%, Healthcare up by 0.46% and Consumer Durables up by 0.42%, while Metal down by 0.63%, Power down by 0.43%, Utilities down by 0.33%, Energy down by 0.08% and Capital Goods down by 0.05% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 5.65%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.88%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.80%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.76% and ICICI Bank up by 1.68%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.77%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.72%, Indusind Bank down by 0.97%, Power Grid Corp down by 0.71% and Tata Steel down by 0.69% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal has said that there is a huge scope for India to move in the global value chain systems and have high value-addition in global exports. India's share in global exports is less than 2 per cent. So, huge potential is there to boost the shipments despite global headwinds and low trade growth predictions.

Barthwal said ‘so, we can easily aim for doubling our exports and increasing our exports (share) to 10 per cent over a period of time and these opportunities exist even if somebody is saying that global trade scenario is looking bleak’. He said the domestic exporters should not be pessimistic about this scenario. He also stated that global firms are looking at India as an alternative destination for investments. He said that e-commerce is strengthening the capabilities of MSMEs to join the supply chains and they should reap the benefits.

The commerce secretary said that a coherent trade strategy that promotes greater integration and participation of India into global value chains is imperative and such a strategy will help India achieve $ 2 trillion exports target by 2027-28 and $8 trillion by 2047. He mentioned that the strategy for export promotion going forward will be more specific and that would include strengthening the data and analytical exercise; increased interaction with exporters; and developing country and sector related strategies as well as targets, among others.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17648.05, up by 84.10 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 17603.70 and 17657.65. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Axis Bank up by 5.63%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.06%, Apollo Hospitals up by 1.95%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.79% and ONGC up by 1.77%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 1.82%, Asian Paints down by 1.78%, Eicher Motors down by 1.18%, JSW Steel down by 1.18% and Hindalco down by 0.92% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Nikkei 225 slipped 115.96 points or 0.43% to 26,891.00, Taiwan Weighted dropped 131.53 points or 1.02% to 12,814.57, Hang Seng decreased 83.42 points or 0.51% to 16,196.80, KOSPI fell 5.09 points or 0.23% to 2,213.00 and Straits Times trembled 42.07 points or 1.39% to 2,980.63.  However, Jakarta Composite soared 66.55 points or 0.95% to 7,047.20 and Shanghai Composite gained 11.76 points or 0.39% to 3,046.81.