Sensex, Nifty off day’s high amid negative global markets

Trimming their gains, Indian equity benchmarks came off day’s high points in early afternoon session, on the back of negative cues from other Asian markets along with selling at Consumer Durables and Healthcare counters. Traders got cautious, after a senior United Nations (UN) official said that India is projected to overtake China as the world's most populous country by the end of this month when its population is expected to reach 1.425 billion, according to the United Nations. A senior UN official also said that India's population is projected to stabilise after the year 2064 and will be around 1.5 billion at the end of the century. Some concerns came with a private report stating that the credit growth momentum is waning in the country and the crucial non-food loans growth is expected to slip to 10 per cent in FY24 from more than 15 per cent in FY23.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, even after South Korea's gross domestic product was up a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent on quarter in the first quarter of 2023. That beat forecasts for an increase of 0.2 percent following the 0.4 percent contraction, avoiding a technical recession in the process. On an annualized basis, GDP grew 0.8 percent, shy of expectations for a gain of 0.9 percent and slowing from 1.3 percent in the previous quarter.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60125.33, up by 69.23 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 59967.02 and 60210.69. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.03%, while Small cap index was up by 0.42%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.62%, Utilities up by 1.52%, Oil & Gas up by 0.90%, PSU up by 0.87% and Industrials up by 0.58%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.15%, Healthcare down by 0.13% and Auto down by 0.05% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 2.11%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.99%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.90%, SBI up by 1.48% and Indusind Bank up by 1.25%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 1.20%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.07%, Sun Pharma down by 0.85%, HDFC down by 0.82% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.57% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry has terminated an anti-dumping investigation into the import of a chemical, used in dying industry, from China following a request from the domestic industry. On September 30, 2022, the ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) initiated a probe into alleged dumping of 'sulphur black' from China, following a complaint by a domestic firm Atul.

The DGTR in a notification said however on April 15, 2023, the applicant has withdrawn its petition and has requested for termination of the investigation citing certain reasons. The authority hereby terminates the investigation against the imports of Sulphur Black originating in or exported from China. It is mainly used for dying cellulose fiber, viscose staple fiber and yam.

Anti-dumping rules have a provision for termination of a probe in certain situations which include withdrawal of application by the affected domestic industry at whose instance the investigation was initiated. In international trade parlance, dumping happens when a country or a firm exports an item at a price lower than the price of that product in the targeted market. The duty is imposed only after a thorough investigation by a quasi-judicial body, such as the DGTR, in India. It is aimed at ensuring fair trade practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17768.80, up by 25.40 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 17716.85 and 17792.10. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 5.38%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.05%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.01%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.67% and SBI up by 1.51%. On the flip side, UPL down by 2.69%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 2.03%, HDFC Bank down by 1.16%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.08% and Sun Pharma down by 1.01% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 341.32 points or 1.71% to 19,618.62, Taiwan Weighted lost 256.14 points or 1.67% to 15,370.73, KOSPI dropped 34.48 points or 1.39% to 2,489.02, Straits Times fell 22.84 points or 0.69% to 3,301.71 and Shanghai Composite weakened 17.62 points or 0.54% to 3,257.79, while Nikkei 225 surged 26.55 points or 0.09% to 28,620.07.