Bourses continue trade weak in late afternoon session

The Indian equity benchmarks continued their weak trade in late afternoon session. The overall market breadth was negative as 1795 shares were declining and 1652 were advancing, while 162 shares were unchanged on the BSE. Selling in Metal and IT stocks dampened sentiments. Traders were cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. Investors ignored reports that India’s services sector witnessed a fastest growth in the month of April, with demand strength promoting the fastest increases in new business and output in close to 13 years. Companies became more optimistic towards future business activity, but job creation remained negligible. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red amidst an anxious wait to the Fed's decision. Concerns over banking sector stress spilled over from Wall Street, adding to the negative sentiment on Wednesday. European markets were trading higher on optimism that the U.S. Federal Reserve could hint at a future pause in its tightening cycle due to resurfacing banking sector worries and a potential debt default.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61172.57, down by 182.14 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 61024.44 and 61274.96. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.29%, while Small cap index was up by 0.10%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.54%, Realty up by 0.32%, PSU up by 0.13%, Industrials up by 0.09% and Consumer Durables was up by 0.04%, while Telecom down by 1.28%, TECK down by 1.05%, IT down by 0.99%, Oil & Gas down by 0.78% and Metal was down by 0.60% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 1.19%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.88%, Asian Paints up by 0.83%, Nestle up by 0.54% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.53%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.38%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.30%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.25%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.15% and Axis Bank down by 1.10% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s services sector witnessed a fastest growth in the month of April, with demand strength promoting the fastest increases in new business and output in close to 13 years. Companies became more optimistic towards future business activity, but job creation remained negligible.
As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index jumped to 62.0 in April from 57.8 in March. Further, the S&P Global India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- also surged to 61.6 in April from 58.4 in March.

Mirroring the trend for business activity, new orders rose at the fastest pace since June 2010. Growth was linked to strong demand for services and competitive pricing. Finance & Insurance topped the sector rankings for sales. New export business expanded for the third month in succession and at the fastest pace over this period.

On the inflation front, the combination of rising input costs and demand resilience urged services companies to lift their selling prices in April. The rate of charge inflation was marked and the strongest in 2023 so far. Indeed, outstanding business volumes increased only marginally in April. The latest rise was the sixteenth in as many months, albeit one of the slowest over this period.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18075.45, down by 72.20 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 18042.40 and 18116.35. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindustan Unilever up by 1.27%, Asian Paints up by 0.86%, Ultratech Cement up by 0.86%, Coal India up by 0.61% and Nestle up by 0.60%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 4.59%, Adani Ports &Special down by 1.69%, UPL down by 1.63%, ONGC down by 1.52% and HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.44% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Hang Seng declined 234.65 points or 1.19% to 19,699.16, Taiwan Weighted lost 83.07 points or 0.53% to 15,553.41, Jakarta Composite plunged 77.35 points or 1.13% to 6,785.95, Straits Times fell 24.88 points or 0.76% to 3,257.11 and KOSPI was down by 22.99 points or 0.92% to 2,501.40. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 34.77 points or 0.12% to 29,157.95 and Shanghai Composite was up by 37.39 points or 1.13% to 3,323.27.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 16.87 points or 0.22% to 7,789.90, France’s CAC rose 46.48 points or 0.63% to 7,429.68 and Germany’s DAX was up by 80.71 points or 0.51% to 15,807.65.