Benchmarks continue to trade marginally in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade marginally in green in morning deals, led by gains in Utilities, Power and Oil & Gas stocks. Traders took some support with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) stating that net direct tax collection so far this fiscal grew 17 per cent to reach Rs 13.73 lakh crore, which is 83 per cent of the revised target for the full financial year. Traders also took a note of the Reserve Bank of India’s statement that India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $1.46 billion to $562.4 billion as of March 3, arresting the four successive weeks of fall. Besides, India and Australia have agreed to conclude the negotiations for a comprehensive free trade agreement as soon as possible as there is huge potential to enhance bilateral commerce in the next five years. However, gains remain capped as traders remained on sidelines ahead of Consumer Price Index (CPI) data to be out later in the day.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed following the broadly negative cues from global markets on Friday, as traders remain cautious and assess the fallout of the biggest US bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. Data showing an increase in U.S. unemployment rate, and a drop in wage growth also raised concerns the US Fed will continue to remain aggressive with regard to interest rate hikes this month.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59273.52, up by 138.39 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 59011.36 and 59510.92. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.67%, while Small cap index was down by 0.87%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.85%, Power up by 0.75%, Oil & Gas up by 0.14%, IT up by 0.13% and Bankex up by 0.13%, while Auto down by 0.76%, Telecom down by 0.65%, Consumer Durables down by 0.44%, Industrials down by 0.27% and PSU down by 0.24% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 8.38%, ICICI Bank up by 1.29%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.01%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.97% and Power Grid Corporation up by 0.93%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 6.21%, Infosys down by 1.11%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.00%, Tata Motors down by 0.94% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.51% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) -- Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Ashima Goyal has said inflation is expected to come down over the year. She asserted ‘Government supply-side action coordinated with a flexible inflation targeting regime has kept Indian inflation rates lower than other countries and our own past averages even in this period of major adverse external supply shocks’.

She said that India has successfully dealt with 'pluri-shocks' over the past three years, showing considerable resilience. She noted ‘Since nominal policy rates rise with inflation to maintain an expected real positive rate under inflation targeting this prevents demand over-heating and anchors inflation expectations.’

She said policy rates had been cut steeply during the pandemic, so they had to be raised fast after recovery was established. But, she emphasised policy rates must not rise too much at present because of slowing external demand. Domestic demand must be allowed to compensate. According to Goyal, as long as the expected future real policy rate does not rise much above unity, RBI is not over-tightening.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17436.40, up by 23.50 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 17386.95 and 17529.90. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 8.16%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.74%, Apollo Hospital up by 1.20%, ICICI Bank up by 1.16% and Grasim Industries up by 1.06%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 6.46%, Infosys down by 1.41%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.11%, Tata Motors down by 1.10% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.06% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 7.47 points or 0.05% to 15,533.67, Hang Seng advanced 436.8 points or 2.21% to 19,756.72, Shanghai Composite strengthened 24.45 points or 0.75% to 3,254.53 and KOSPI increased 10.39 points or 0.43% to 2,404.98.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite plunged 3.08 points or 0.05% to 6,762.22, Straits Times fell 21.97 points or 0.69% to 3,155.46 and Nikkei 225 slipped 431.11 points or 1.53% to 27,712.86.