Markets trade slightly higher in early deals

Indian equity markets have made a flat opening and are trading marginally in green in early deals on Thursday on account of buying in Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bajaj Finserv stocks. Meanwhile, broader indices on the BSE were also trading in green. Traders were getting some encouragement as Additional Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Rajeev Singh Thakur has said that the government has released Rs 2,874.71 crore to the beneficiaries of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme till March, with a majority of companies from eight sectors like electronics, telecom, pharma and food processing. However, mixed cues from global markets weighed on the domestic markets. Traders await a slew of upcoming central bank meetings, most notably the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, due over the next two weeks. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is likely to keep its monetary policy steady on Friday.  

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed following the mixed cues from US markets overnight, on renewed concerns over the health of the US financial sector. The outlook for interest rate hikes and a potential recession in the U.S. is also hurting sentiment. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front,  traders were seen pilling up position in Realty, Telecom, Utilities, Auto and Industrials, while selling was witnessed in TECK, Consumer Durables and Healthcare. In the stock specific development, City Union Bank (CUB) surged after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved the reappointment of N. Kamakodi as the managing director and chief executive officer (MD and CEO) of the bank for three years with effect from May 1, 2023.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60388.73, up by 88.15 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 60271.49 and 60389.44. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.21%, while Small cap index up by 0.52%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.66%, Telecom up by 0.55%, Utilities up by 0.31%, Auto up by 0.28% and Industrials up by 0.24%, while TECK down by 0.07%, Consumer Durables down by 0.05% and Healthcare down by 0.02% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 2.32%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.41%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.15%, ITC up by 0.63% and Tata Motors up by 0.52%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 0.73%, TCS down by 0.68%, Wipro down by 0.47%, Asian Paints down by 0.34% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.26% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Additional Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Rajeev Singh Thakur has said that the government has released Rs 2,874.71 crore to the beneficiaries of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme till March, with a majority of companies from eight sectors like electronics, telecom, pharma and food processing. Thakur said these eight sectors are doing well, while few need to increase their pace.

The scheme was announced in 2020 for 14 sectors with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore to enhance domestic manufacturing capabilities and boost exports. He said that incentive claims of over Rs 3,420.05 crore have been received under the scheme for eight sectors - large-scale electronics manufacturing; electronics and technology products; bulk drugs; medical devices; pharmaceuticals; telecom and networking products; food items; and drones, of which over Rs 2,800 crore have already been disbursed.

Further, he said ‘The next two-three years will be crucial and we hope that things will move with a fast pace.’ Besides, he said till December 2022, 717 applications have been approved in 14 sectors with expected investments of Rs 2.74 lakh crore. He added actual investment of Rs 53,500 crore has been realised, which has resulted in incremental production/sales of over Rs 5 lakh crore and employment generation of over 3 lakhs. A maximum of Rs 1,649 was disbursed in the electronics sector. It was followed by pharma (Rs 652 crore), food products (Rs 486 crore), telecom (Rs 35 crore), drones (Rs 30 crore), medical devices (12.8 crore), and electronics (Rs 5.3 crore) and bulk drugs (Rs 4.34 crore).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17833.80, up by 20.20 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 17797.90 and 17837.70. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 2.81%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.39%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.36%, UPL up by 1.32% and SBI Life up by 1.28%. On the flip side, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.58%, Power Grid down by 0.67%, Grasim Industries down by 0.62%, TCS down by 0.61% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.60% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 54.75 points or 0.36% to 15,429.38, Shanghai Composite strengthened 6.53 points or 0.2% to 3,270.63, KOSPI increased 1.17 points or 0.05% to 2,486.00 and Jakarta Composite gained 12.81 points or 0.19% to 6,922.96. However,  Straits Times fell 17.06 points or 0.52% to 3,276.85, Nikkei 225 slipped 70.7 points or 0.25% to 28,345.77 and Hang Seng declined 18.75 points or 0.09% to 19,738.52.