Domestic equity indices remain in green

Domestic equity indices continued to trade in green in early noon deals on account of buying by fund and retail investors. Meanwhile, broader indices on the BSE were also trading higher.  Positive cues from global markets supported domestic sentiments. The sentiments were further supported by Indian rupee appreciating 18 paise to 82.64 against the dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on increased selling of the US currency by exporters and banks.  On the sectoral front, all the sectoral indices on the BSE were trading in green led by IT, Realty, TECK, Healthcare and Metal. There was some buzz in sugar industry related stocks as Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said the government will take a call next month on increasing the sugar export quota from the present 60 lakh tonnes for the current marketing year after assessing the domestic production.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, following gains in US and Europe markets, as a forecast-busting US retail sales report showed American consumers remain confident despite elevated inflation. Back home, in the stock specific development, Ramco Systems surged as it signed a digital transformation deal to automate and optimize business operations across the Philippine Airlines Group network.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61517.74, up by 242.65 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 61445.41 and 61682.25. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.69%, while Small cap index was up by 0.76%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.58%, Realty up by 1.27%, TECK up by 1.02%, Healthcare up by 0.89% and Metal up by 0.88%, while there were no losing sectoral indices.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 5.65%, Asian Paints up by 1.38%, Nestle up by 1.30%, TCS up by 1.23% and HCL up by 1.01%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 0.57%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.52%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.45%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.26% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.19% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry in its latest data has showed that contracting for the second month in a row, India's Merchandise exports dipped by 6.58 per cent to $32.91 billion in January 2023 as against $ 35.23 billion in the same month last year due to slowdown in global demand, even as the trade deficit touched a 12-month low of $17.75 billion during the month. Imports in January 2023 too contracted by 3.63 per cent, the second consecutive month, to $50.66 billion.

As per the data, merchandise exports for the period April-January 2022-23 were $369.25 Billion as against $340.28 Billion during the period April-January 2021-22. Merchandise imports for the period April-January 2022-23 were $602.20 Billion as against $494.06 Billion during the period April-January 2021-22. The merchandise trade deficit for April-January 2022-23 was estimated at $232.95 Billion as against $153.79 Billion in April-January 2021-22.

The data further showed that non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in January 2023 were $25.35 Billion, compared to $27.41 Billion in January 2022. Non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports during April-January 2022-23 was $259.06 Billion, as compared to $257.36 Billion in April-January 2021-22. Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports in January 2023 were $33.56 Billion, compared to $34.90 Billion in January 2022. Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports were $364.29 Billion in April-January 2022-23 as compared to $301.76 Billion in April-January 2021-22.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18085.20, up by 69.35 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 18061.15 and 18134.75. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 5.59%, ONGC up by 3.46%, Apollo Hospital up by 3.23%, Divi's Lab up by 1.48% and Asian Paints up by 1.44%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 1.43%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.63%, Tata Motors down by 0.62%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.49% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.39% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Taiwan Weighted added 117.61 points or 0.76% to 15,550.50, Hang Seng advanced 349.92 points or 1.68% to 21,162.09, Shanghai Composite strengthened 8.72 points or 0.27% to 3,289.21, KOSPI increased 44.39 points or 1.83% to 2,472.29, Straits Times rose 39.12 points or 1.19% to 3,319.94 and Nikkei 225 surged 194.58 points or 0.7% to 27,696.44. However, Jakarta Composite plunged 13.57 points or 0.2% to 6,900.97.