Domestic indices trade higher in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks, after previous session’s lackluster trade, showed some respite with optimistic start on Wednesday. Markets are trading range-bound in early deals as buying in counters such as Telecom, FMCG and Capital Goods supporting the indices. Sensex and Nifty are trading higher with gains of around 0.35% each, whereas broader indices are outperforming larger peers with gains of over half a percent each. Foreign fund inflows aided domestic sentiments. National Stock Exchange’s provisional data showed that foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth Rs 1,531.13 crore on March 28. Sentiments got a boost as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the country's merchandise and services exports are estimated to cross $760 billion in the current fiscal ending March 31. He said that at a time when the whole world is facing recession, high inflation and elevated interest rates, India is performing well.

Though, upside remained capped amid mixed global cues as the mood was cautious with traders awaiting further updates on the health of the banking sector, and looking ahead to some crucial economic data for direction. Domestic investors also remained on sidelines ahead of holiday on Thursday on account of Ram Navami. Volatility to remain in the markets ahead of monthly expiry of F&O series. On the sectoral front, defence industry stocks were in focus as Union minister Rajnath Singh said India would be exporting defence equipment and material worth Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 crore by 2026. In stock specific developments, Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports jumped after the Adani Group refuted reports on pledged shares.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57786.78, up by 173.06 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 57569.36 and 57832.40. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.58%, while Small cap index was up by 0.70%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.09%, FMCG up by 0.78%, Capital Goods up by 0.72%, Industrials up by 0.70%, Auto up by 0.69%, while Power down by 0.41%, Utilities down by 0.39%, Energy down by 0.27%, Oil & Gas down by 0.18%, Metal down by 0.02% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 1.39%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.15%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.06%, HCL Technologies up by 1.04% and Sun Pharma up by 1.04%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 0.97%, Reliance Industries down by 0.78%, Tata Steel down by 0.44%, Infosys down by 0.09% and Axis Bank down by 0.07% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over India’s exports growth, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the country's merchandise and services exports are likely to cross $760 billion in the current fiscal ending March 31 (FY23). Exports grew to $676 billion in 2021-22 from $500 billion. He added that at a time when the whole world is facing recession, high inflation and elevated interest rates, India is performing well.

He said ‘I can say with great pride, happiness, and thanks to all your efforts that India has crossed in its 75th year of independence, as we speak today, $750 billion of exports’, and added that the financial year is expected to end with a total exports (merchandise and services) of about $760 billion. He stressed that over the last 9 years, the focus of the Modi-government has been on building the foundation blocks which are necessary for an economy to have many years of uninterrupted and sustainable growth.

He also said various steps being taken by the government are making India more cost competitive, be it the huge investment in infrastructure coupled with logistics, technological advancement, or the PM GatiShakti. He also said the performance of India's global trade has proved the naysayers wrong. The minister also said the FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) with the UAE and Australia have been welcomed by the industry. He noted that the speed of India's FTAs did not come at the cost of compromising the quality of agreements and it was done after extensive stakeholder consultation.

He said ‘We have a string of countries from across the globe wanting to engage with India today to expand and deepen ties’, and added the world recognises the delta of opportunities that India offers. He further said leveraging on the G20 Presidency and the edge India has today, the need of the hour is speedy and aggressive outreach to global markets with focus on investment, trade, technology and tourism.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17015.20, up by 63.50 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 16976.65 and 17023.20. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.53%, Adani Enterprises up by 2.23%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.41%, Eicher Motors up by 1.24% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.16%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 0.91%, Reliance Industries down by 0.80%, Tata Steel down by 0.39%, UPL down by 0.33% and Infosys down by 0.11% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 385.12 points or 1.95% to 20,169.77, Nikkei 225 surged 174.4 points or 0.63% to 27,692.65, Jakarta Composite gained 60.24 points or 0.89% to 6,820.57, Straits Times rose 3.94 points or 0.12% to 3,259.48. On the other hand, Taiwan Weighted lost 6.36 points or 0.04% to 15,695.12, KOSPI dropped 2.83 points or 0.12% to 2,432.11 and Shanghai Composite was down by 1.44 points or 0.04% to 3,243.94.