Bourses trade at day’s high levels in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets traded at day’s high levels in late afternoon session following gains in Banking, Metal and IT stocks. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were also adding gains. Traders took some support, as Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have infused Rs 8,643 crore in the Indian equity markets so far in April on the reasonable valuation of stocks. FPIs infused a net sum of Rs 7,936 crore in equities in March mainly driven by bulk investment in the Adani Group companies by the US-based GQG Partners. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as focus shifted to central bank meetings and U.S. corporate earnings. Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta Platforms all are slated to report their earnings this week. European markets were trading lower as investors await more economic data this week and earnings from some of the highest-valued U.S. companies, along with major European banks and consumer companies.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59959.12, up by 304.06 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 59620.11 and 59993.59. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.40%, while Small cap index was up by 0.41%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.27%, PSU up by 1.03%, Realty up by 1.01%, Consumer Durables up by 0.69% and Industrials was up by 0.42%, while Healthcare down by 0.68%, Utilities down by 0.38%, Telecom down by 0.29%, Power down by 0.23% and Auto was down by 0.15% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Wipro up by 2.38%, ICICI Bank up by 2.13%, SBI up by 1.98%, Axis Bank up by 1.92% and Titan Company up by 1.62%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 1.63%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.14%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.90%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.64% and Infosys down by 0.36% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has expressed hope that traders will soon be able to settle foreign trade in the rupee currency as several banks from different countries are opening special Vostro accounts with Indian banks. He said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved 60 requests to open Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVAs) of correspondent banks from 18 countries, including the UK, Singapore, and New Zealand. He also said the RBI is in discussion with its counterparts in different nations on this.

Goyal also said that negotiations for free trade agreements (FTAs) with developed regions like the European Union, the UK, and Canada are in 'advanced' stages. Groups including European Free Trade Association Free Trade Agreement (EFTA), Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are also keen to start talks for similar pacts with India. He said the whole world wants to have a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with India.
On the second phase of the production-linked incentive scheme for the textiles sector, he said that extensive stakeholder discussions have happened on the subject. He said ‘I am quite confident that very soon we will be able to finalise the contours of the scheme and take it up for approval at the highest level’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17714.70, up by 90.65 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 17612.50 and 17720.80. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Life Insurance up by 6.19%, Tata Consumer up by 4.18%, Wipro up by 2.42%, SBI up by 2.00% and ICICI Bank up by 2.00%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.91%, Sun Pharma down by 1.62%, Cipla down by 1.16%, Divi's Lab down by 1.16% and Maruti Suzuki down by 1.11% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Jakarta Composite gained 34.23 points or 0.5% to 6,821.81, Nikkei 225 surged 29.15 points or 0.1% to 28,593.52, Taiwan Weighted added 23.88 points or 0.15% to 15,626.87 and Straits Times was up by 3.57 points or 0.11% to 3,325.39. On the flip side, KOSPI dropped 20.9 points or 0.83% to 2,523.50, Shanghai Composite weakened 25.85 points or 0.79% to 3,275.41 and Hang Seng was down by 115.79 points or 0.58% to 19,959.94.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 15.3 points or 0.19% to 7,898.83, France’s CAC fell 20.24 points or 0.27% to 7,556.76 and Germany’s DAX was down by 30.93 points or 0.19% to 15,850.73.