Markets continue to trade in green in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices continued to trade in green in late morning deals on account of buying by funds and retail investors. Meanwhile, the session was also proving positive for broader indices which were trading with gains in the range of 0.30-0.55%. Sentiments got boost as fears of a banking crisis eased. Traders were also getting encouragement as the Finance Ministry in its Monthly Economic Review stated that Indian economy is likely to grow at 7 per cent in FY23 despite global headwinds while retail inflation would moderate in line with wholesale inflation which fell to a 25-month low in January. Information technology (IT) stocks fell after private report said that the banking woes in developed markets would likely lead to curbs on discretionary tech spending in the near term.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green following the positive cues from global markets overnight, as traders reacted to the latest efforts to address turmoil in the global banking sector, including UBS' state-backed acquisition of Credit Suisse. Back home, in the stock specific development, Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy soared after the company emerged as successful bidder for work of solar PV project worth around Rs 2,100 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57880.83, up by 251.88 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 57730.09 and 57976.52. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.30%, while Small cap index up by 0.53%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.42%, Telecom up by 1.09%, Capital Goods up by 1.00%, Industrials up by 0.83% and Energy up by 0.67%, while IT down by 0.54%, FMCG down by 0.49%, TECK down by 0.26%, PSU down by 0.20% and Realty down by 0.05% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 2.88%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.15%, Titan up by 2.07%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.88% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.42%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.87%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.99%, ITC down by 0.94%, TCS down by 0.83% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.82% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has said that retail inflation for agricultural and rural workers increased to 6.94 per cent and 6.87 per cent, respectively, in February 2023, due to increases in prices of medicines, doctor's fees, and bus fares, among others. It said Point to point rate of inflation based on the CPI-AL (consumer price index for agricultural labourers) and CPI-RL (rural labourers) were at 5.59 per cent and 5.94 per cent, respectively in February 2022.

Inflation based on CPI-AL and CPI-RL were 6.85 per cent and 6.88 per cent in January 2023. The all-India CPI-AL and CPI-RL increased by 1 point each to stand at 1,171 and 1,182, respectively. The maximum upward pressure on general index of AL and RL came from miscellaneous group to the extent of 0.93 and 0.98 points respectively mainly due to increase in prices of medicine, doctor’s fee, barber charges, bus fare, washing shop, cinema ticket, etc.

The maximum increase in the CPI numbers for agricultural and rural workers was experienced in Gujarat (8 points each) mainly due to the rise in the prices of rice, wheat-atta, jowar, pulses, vegetables & fruits, firewood, etc. On the contrary, the maximum decrease in the CPI numbers for both labourers was experienced by Assam (7 points each) mainly due to fall in the prices of fish-fresh, chillies green, vegetables & fruits, etc.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17065.40, up by 77.00 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 17016.00 and 17086.15. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Life Insurance up by 3.20%, Reliance Industries up by 2.89%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.17%, Titan up by 2.16% and Bajaj Finance up by 2.06%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 1.82%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.97%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.97%, TCS down by 0.89% and ITC down by 0.87% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; Taiwan Weighted added 94.55 points or 0.61% to 15,514.52, Hang Seng advanced 169.84 points or 0.89% to 19,170.55, Shanghai Composite strengthened 12.9 points or 0.4% to 3,247.81,  KOSPI increased 8 points or 0.34% to 2,387.20, Jakarta Composite gained 47.95 points or 0.72% to 6,660.44 and Straits Times rose 32.43 points or 1.03% to 3,172.19.