Benchmarks trade flat with positive bias in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks erased initial gains to trade flat with positive bias in morning deals, tracking mixed trend in other Asian markets and continuous foreign fund inflows. Traders took some support as Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said India's merchandise exports touched $447 billion in FY23, up from $442 billion in FY22, though the final data is awaited. This would translate into a 6 per cent year-on-year jump in exports. However, gains remain capped as some concern came with the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) statistical supplement showed that India's foreign exchange reserves retreated from more than eight-month highs to $578.45 billion as of the week ended March 31. That is a decrease of around $380 million from the previous week. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed as investors globally were looking forward to monthly inflation numbers and the minutes of the recent US FOMC policy meeting.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59845.15, up by 12.18 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 59844.77 and 60019.57. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.36%, while Small cap index was up by 0.24%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 3.18%, Utilities up by 1.59%, Power up by 1.46%, Oil & Gas up by 1.27% and Auto up by 1.08%, while Bankex down by 0.37% and FMCG down by 0.30% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 7.29%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.74%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.29%, NTPC up by 1.06% and Titan Company up by 0.81%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.62%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.51%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.98%, Indusind Bank down by 0.82% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.61% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva has said that the global economy is estimated to grow less than 3 per cent in 2023, with India and China expected to account for half of global growth during the year. Georgieva stated global growth is expected to remain around 3 per cent over the next five years -- its lowest medium-term growth forecast since 1990, and well below the average of 3.8 per cent from the past two decades.

She said Asia is in a bright spot. She mentioned ‘Some momentum comes from emerging economies -- Asia especially is a bright spot. India and China are expected to account for half of the global growth in 2023’. Moreover, she said ‘Despite surprisingly resilient labour markets and consumer spending in most advanced economies, and the uplift from China's reopening, we expect the world economy to grow less than 3 per cent in 2023.’

Further, she said economic activity is slowing in the US and the Eurozone because of the current higher interest rates regime, thereby weighing on the demand. She stated about 90 per cent of advanced economies are projected to see a decline in their growth rate this year. She also said ‘For low-income countries, higher borrowing costs come at a time of weakening demand for their exports. And we see their per-capita income growth staying below that of emerging economies. That is a severe blow, making it even harder for low-income nations to catch up.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17617.35, up by 18.20 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 17608.80 and 17660.65. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 7.21%, ONGC up by 2.76%, Adani Enterprises up by 2.70%, Adani Ports &SEZ up by 2.17% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.77%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.71%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.43%, Tata Consumer Product down by 1.07%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.01% and Indusind Bank down by 0.83% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 43.69 points or 0.28% to 15,880.19, KOSPI increased 19.13 points or 0.77% to 2,509.54 and Nikkei 225 surged 107.15 points or 0.39% to 27,625.46. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite weakened 5.48 points or 0.16% to 3,322.17, Jakarta Composite plunged 45.79 points or 0.67% to 6,746.98 and Straits Times fell 4.59 points or 0.14% to 3,295.89.