Sensex, Nifty trim gains in early noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some of their gains in early afternoon deals, however managed to trade in green, amid positive cues from other Asian markets. Traders were getting relief with Moody's Investors Service’s latest report stating that most Asia-Pacific (APAC) financial institutions are not exposed to the failed US banks and are not as susceptible to large losses from debt security holdings as Silicon Valley Bank was. Besides, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said that if the Small Farmers will be empowered, it will boost India’s GDP.

However, gains got trimmed, amid a private report stating that venture capital (VC) funding for Indian startups has taken a sharp cut. It dropped to $25.7 billion in 2022 from $35.8 billion in 2021 as the global economy experienced turbulence. Adding more concerns, another private report stated that hiring intentions will remain marginally lower during the second quarter (April-June) this year as employers continue to have difficulty in finding people with the right skills.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher, after China's industrial production and retail sales expanded in January to February period. The data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that industrial output grew 2.4 percent on a yearly basis in January to February period, faster than the 1.3 percent increase posted in December. Retail sales advanced 3.5 percent from the last year, in contrast to the 1.8 percent decline in December. The rate came in line with expectations.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58084.36, up by 184.17 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 58011.23 and 58473.63. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.62%, while Small cap index was up by 0.73%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.49%, Capital Goods up by 1.48%, Consumer Durables up by 1.20%, Industrials up by 1.09% and Healthcare up by 0.66%, while Telecom down by 0.36%, FMCG down by 0.30% and Energy down by 0.03% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 3.19%, Tata Steel up by 2.16%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.01%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.92% and Titan Company up by 1.70%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.40%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.32%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.90%, Axis Bank down by 0.56% and Indusind Bank down by 0.43% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, underlining the various measures being taken by the government for the agriculture sector, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said that if the Small Farmers will be empowered, it will boost India’s GDP. He further noted that Small Farmers constitute 85% of the farming community and they face the challenge of lack of private investment. Farming is the backbone of India’s economy and the farm ecosystem is the main pillar of Indian economy.

Tomar said that the Central Government has undertaken an ambitious programme of forming 10,000 Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) with an outlay of Rs 6,865 crore to boost the economic capacity of the Small Farmers. While in the plains, 300 farmers can form an FPO, in the Hilly and North-Eastern Region 100 farmers can join to form an FPO. The FPOs can have a bargaining power to have new technologies, improved fertilizers and quality seeds as well as equipment and can add productivity through cluster farming.

Besides, the minister said that Rs 1,50,000 crore of Atmanirbhar package has been earmarked for the farmers including Rs 15,000 crore for Horticulture, Rs 20,000 crore for Fisheries, Rs 4,000 crore for Herbal Agriculture and Rs 10,000 crore for Food Processing Industries. He also said that in 2013-14 the Agriculture Budget was Rs 21,000 crore, which has been increased by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Government to Rs 1,25,000 crore at present.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17088.30, up by 45.00 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 17082.95 and 17211.35. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 3.35%, Tata Steel up by 2.11%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.87%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.83% and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone up by 1.79%. On the flip side, Nestle down by 1.37%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.28%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.88%, Britannia Industries down by 0.84% and Axis Bank down by 0.59% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; Hang Seng advanced 263.72 points or 1.35% to 19,511.68, Straits Times rose 40.53 points or 1.28% to 3,170.28, KOSPI increased 30.75 points or 1.29% to 2,379.72, Taiwan Weighted added 27.17 points or 0.18% to 15,387.59, Shanghai Composite strengthened 18.14 points or 0.56% to 3,263.45, Nikkei 225 surged 7.44 points or 0.03% to 27,229.48 and Jakarta Composite gained 2.4 points or 0.04% to 6,644.21.