Benchmarks continue to trade in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green in morning deals, led by gains in Telecom, Industrials and Metal stocks. Sentiments remained positive with provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth Rs 1,338 crore on May 3, 2023. However, gains remain capped as some concern came with report that the Centre has advised states to be prepared for worst situation and ensure adequate availability of seeds for kharif sowing season in case of less rainfall, amid concerns over possible impact of evolving El Nino conditions on monsoon rains. Meanwhile, a Reserve Bank report said India’s green financing requirement is estimated to be at least 2.5 per cent of GDP annually till 2030. The country aims to achieve net zero emissions target by 2070.  On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green despite broadly negative cues from Wall Street, on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rate hikes after the US Fed hiked interest rates for the tenth straight time. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61323.61, up by 130.31 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 61119.56 and 61336.79. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.59%, while Small cap index was up by 0.65%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 0.87%, Industrials up by 0.76%, Metal up by 0.69%, Capital Goods up by 0.56% and PSU up by 0.52%, while Realty down by 0.84%, Utilities down by 0.10% and FMCG down by 0.08% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.64%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.57%, SBI up by 1.10%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.86% and Asian Paints up by 0.86%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.06%, ICICI Bank down by 0.81%, Indusind Bank down by 0.67%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.50% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.50% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said mandatory quality control norms for about 675 products are under consideration of 14 ministries. The effort is aimed at containing import of the sub-standard product and boost domestic industry.

He mentioned ‘Overall 675 products are under consideration by 14 ministries so that this culture of quality becomes seeped in our day today working. It will help us reduce costs, improve competitiveness, boost exports, create jobs and promote brand India image.’

He also said that during 2015 to 2022, 101 such orders were issued for 387 products. It was only 14 Quality Control Orders (QCOs) for 106 products during 1947 and 2014. Products under the Quality Control Orders (QCOs) cannot be produced, traded or imported without conforming with the Bureau of Indian Standards quality norms and bearing a BIS mark. He stated so far this year, 58 draft QCOs for 316 products are in different stages of progress.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18132.30, up by 42.45 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 18066.70 and 18136.10. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were SBI Life Insurance up by 1.76%, Tata Steel up by 1.73%, BPCL up by 1.58%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.55% and Adani Enterprises up by 1.28%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.15%, Coal India down by 0.93%, ICICI Bank down by 0.81%, Indusind Bank down by 0.75% and Tata Consumer Product down by 0.56% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 52.85 points or 0.34% to 15,606.26, Hang Seng advanced 199.86 points or 1% to 19,899.02, Shanghai Composite strengthened 18.46 points or 0.55% to 3,341.73, Jakarta Composite gained 16.5 points or 0.24% to 6,829.22 and Straits Times rose 0.5 points or 0.02% to 3,262.51.

On the flip side, KOSPI dropped 3.53 points or 0.14% to 2,497.87.