Benchmarks trade flat in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks erased most of their initial gains to trade flat in morning deals even as major companies such as Reliance Industries (RIL) and ICICI Bank posted strong Q4 results. Traders got anxious as exchange data showed Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were net sellers on Friday as they offloaded domestic equities worth Rs 2,116.76 crore. However, traders took some support with Union minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the world is now looking up to India and its industries and this is the right time for entrepreneurs and industry players to grasp the opportunity and grow exports. Meanwhile, India has climbed six places on the World Bank‘s Logistic Performance Index (LPI) 2023, now ranking 38th in the 139 countries index, as a result of significant investments in both soft and hard infrastructure as well as technology. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as markets hunkered down before a slew of central bank meetings and economic readings due over the next two weeks, with focus also turning to the U.S. earnings season. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59674.45, up by 19.39 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 59635.74 and 59958.33. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.15%, while Small cap index was up by 0.29%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.65%, Bankex up by 0.50%, PSU up by 0.29%, Consumer Durables up by 0.24% and Energy up by 0.15%, while Utilities down by 0.73%, Healthcare down by 0.67%, Telecom down by 0.58%, Power down by 0.52% and Capital Goods down by 0.31% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 1.40%, Wipro up by 1.25%, Titan Company up by 1.13%, HCL Technologies up by 0.77% and SBI up by 0.68%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.40%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.26%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.93%, Asian Paints down by 0.90% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.78% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union minister Piyush Goyal has said the world is now looking up to India and its industries and this is the right time for entrepreneurs and industry players to grasp the opportunity and grow exports. He added entrepreneurial abilities in the country with innovation, new ideas, new ways of marketing and branding products can unleash the true potential of the country.

He noted that on April 24, he has a meeting with ministers of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), consisting of four countries including Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, who are keen to negotiate with India. he also said ‘Other Gulf countries and Russia are also keen to negotiate with India’. Further, he said jewellery exporters have shown good promise and good results and the gem and jewellery industry is the diamond of India's exports.

He said ‘The industry's talent is spread across every zone and this industry can generate lots of jobs commensurate with the talent. The future is bright but we seek a collective commitment from every exporter to contribute to increasing exports despite headwinds and challenges’. He noted that the government is working towards ease of doing business honestly and efficiently and expects the industry players to engage in ethical practices.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17625.55, up by 1.50 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 17620.05 and 17709.20. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Life Insurance up by 4.73%, Tata Consumer Product up by 3.16%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.90%, Apollo Hospital up by 1.64% and Wipro up by 1.29%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 2.51%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.70%, UPL down by 1.38%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.22% and Cipla down by 1.16% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 125.95 points or 0.63% to 19,949.78, Shanghai Composite weakened 4.96 points or 0.15% to 3,296.30, KOSPI dropped 24.39 points or 0.96% to 2,520.01 and Straits Times fell 6.5 points or 0.2% to 3,315.32.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 40.54 points or 0.14% to 28,604.91 and Taiwan Weighted added 8.84 points or 0.06% to 15,611.83.