Firm trade persists over Dalal Street

Firm trade persisted over the Dalal Street in early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty holding their notable gains, on the back of positive cues from other Asian markets along with heavy buying at Metal and Power counters. Sentiments remained upbeat, amid reports that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) infused Rs 11,630 crore in the Indian equity markets in April on the reasonable valuation of stocks and appreciation in the rupee. The street took a note of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) survey report showing that economists worldwide are evenly divided on the prospects for the economy, with equal shares of 45 per cent finding a global recession this year likely or unlikely, but India figures among the economies most likely to benefit from supply-chain changes. 

Traders continued to take support from reports that India's manufacturing sector activity improved in the month of April, as factory orders and production rose at the strongest rates in 2023 so far, more jobs were created and companies stepped up input purchasing owing to stock-replenishment efforts. According to the report, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) surged to 57.2 in April from 56.4 in March.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, even as the manufacturing sector in Taiwan continued to contract in April, and at a faster pace, with a manufacturing PMI score of 47.1. That's down from 48.6 in March, and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Pushing the headline index further below the neutral 50.0 level was a quicker drop in total new work in April. The solid decrease in sales was often linked to weak demand, both at home and overseas, and relatively high inventory levels at some clients.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61386.39, up by 273.95 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 61255.00 and 61486.24. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.81%, while Small cap index was up by 0.82%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.87%, Power up by 1.30%, Utilities up by 1.30%, Oil & Gas up by 1.19% and IT up by 1.13%, while Telecom down by 0.16% and Healthcare down by 0.09% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 2.93%, Tata Steel up by 2.41%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.05%, NTPC up by 1.72% and Axis Bank up by 1.50%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.33%, Sun Pharma down by 1.30%, Tata Motors down by 1.29%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.14% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal has said that India's exports to the UAE are expected to rise by about 60 per cent to reach $50 billion by 2026-27 from $31.3 billion at present on the back of the free trade agreement between the countries. He said that trade between India and the UAE has grown significantly after the implementation of the trade agreement on May 1 last year.

Barthwal said a lot of trade is happening through the preferential route of the trade pact. He said ‘we would like traders of the two countries to take advantage of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). He further said that there is a joint trade committee which looks after the implementation of this trade pact and if any issue would come both sides would jointly resolve that. He added that the issue of gold was addressed by this committee.

The India-UAE CEPA which was signed between the two nations on 18 February 2022, officially came into force on May 1 last year. India's exports to the UAE in 2022-23 rose by 11.8 per cent to $31.3 billion, while imports grew by 18.8 per cent to $53.2 billion in the last fiscal due to high inbound shipments of oil. Under the free trade agreement domestic exporters in various sectors like textiles, agriculture, dry fruits, gems and jewellery are getting duty-free access to the UAE market.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18150.10, up by 85.10 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 18101.75 and 18180.25. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 2.96%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.94%, Tata Steel up by 2.27%, JSW Steel up by 2.21% and Maruti Suzuki up by 2.03%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.47%, Sun Pharma down by 1.37%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.36%, Tata Motors down by 1.23% and Ultratech Cement down by 1.21% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 57.3 points or 0.37% to 15,636.48, Nikkei 225 surged 34.77 points or 0.12% to 29,157.95, KOSPI increased 22.86 points or 0.91% to 2,524.39 and Straits Times rose 6.54 points or 0.2% to 3,277.05, while Hang Seng declined 19.37 points or 0.1% to 19,875.20 and Jakarta Composite plunged 92.48 points or 1.34% to 6,823.24.