Benchmarks continue to trade higher in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade higher in morning deals, led by gains in Consumer Durables, Capital Goods and Industrials stocks. Sentiments remained up-beat as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the country's goods exports touched $447 billion till the last count for 2022-23 fiscal year as against $422 billion in 2021-22. Some support also came with Credit rating agency Crisil’s report stating that banks' gross non-performing assets (NPAs) will reduce further to a decadal low of 3.8 per cent by end of FY2023-24. The agency estimates NPAs to reduce to 4.2 per cent by end of the just concluded FY23 as against 5.9 per cent in the year-ago period. It had earlier estimated NPAs to come at 4 per cent by end of FY24. Traders overlooked a private survey showing that growth in India's dominant services industry eased in the month of March 2023 from February's 12-year high due to a softer expansion in demand. The S&P Global India services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 57.8 last month from 59.4 in February. But it stayed above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction for a 20th consecutive month.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green despite a weak session on Wall Street overnight, as signs of a slowing US labour market and slowing manufacturing activity led to nervousness among investors about the economic outlook. Traders also continued to look ahead to the release of the US Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday. The data could impact the outlook for interest rates and the economy.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59471.70, up by 365.26 points or 0.62% after trading in a range of 59094.40 and 59511.22. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.17%, while Small cap index was up by 0.67%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.98%, Capital Goods up by 0.89%, Industrials up by 0.78%, FMCG up by 0.72% and Realty up by 0.61%, while Utilities down by 0.90%, Power down by 0.86%, PSU down by 0.51%, Metal down by 0.45% and Auto down by 0.15% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 3.32%, HDFC up by 2.34%, HDFC Bank up by 2.31%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.03% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.48%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.49%, NTPC down by 1.04%, SBI down by 0.88%, ICICI Bank down by 0.67% and Axis Bank down by 0.51% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its latest report ‘Asian Development Outlook (ADO) April 2023’ has said India's economic growth is expected to moderate to 6.4 per cent in the current financial year (FY24) due to  tight monetary conditions and elevated oil prices as compared to 6.8 per cent expansion for the financial year ended March 2023. It mentioned the growth moderation for India in FY24 is premised on an ongoing global economic slowdown, tight monetary conditions, and elevated oil prices.

However, ADB expects the country's economic growth to accelerate to 6.7 per cent in FY25 driven by private consumption and private investment on the back of government policies to improve transport infrastructure, logistics, and the business ecosystem. It stated FY25 is expected to see faster growth in investment, thanks to supportive government policies and sound macroeconomic fundamentals, lower non-performing loans in banks, and significant corporate deleveraging that will enhance bank lending.

ADB Country Director for India Takeo Konishi said that despite the global slowdown, India's economic growth rate is stronger than many peer economies and reflects relatively robust domestic consumption and lesser dependence on global demand. He stated the government of India's strong infrastructure push under Prime Minister's Gati Shakti (National Master Plan for Multimodal Connectivity) initiative, logistics development, and industrial corridor development will contribute significantly to raising industrial competitiveness and boosting future growth.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17492.20, up by 94.15 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 17402.70 and 17501.55. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 3.25%, HDFC Bank up by 2.29%, HDFC up by 2.27%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.06% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.44%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 1.51%, Indusind Bank down by 1.31%, Eicher Motors down by 1.11%, NTPC down by 1.07% and Hindalco down by 1.06% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; KOSPI increased 14.36 points or 0.58% to 2,494.87, Jakarta Composite gained 3.32 points or 0.05% to 6,836.50 and Straits Times rose 15.9 points or 0.48% to 3,327.02, while Nikkei 225 slipped 458.67 points or 1.62% to 27,828.75.