Domestic indices trade in fine-fettle in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made an optimistic start on Monday with traders looking to pick up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness. Globally, data showing a bigger than expected in US jobs addition in the month of April has fueled hopes that the US Fed will hold rates steady in the near future. Domestic markets added more strength on the Street and are trading in fine-fettle in early deals with gains of around 0.80% each on account of value buying. Investors await more of financial results from India Inc for directional cues. Foreign fund inflows also aided domestic sentiments. Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth Rs 777.68 crore on May 5, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed. Some support also came in as the Reserve Bank of India said India’s foreign exchange reserves jumped $4.532 billion to $588.78 billion for the week ended April 28. The overall reserves had dropped $2.164 billion to $584.248 billion in the previous reporting week. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed with focus now turning to upcoming inflation data from the world’s largest economies, due this week. Back home, on the sectoral front, agriculture related stocks were in focus with report that exports of agricultural and processed food products rose by 9% to $26.3 billion in 2022-23 as compared to FY22, driven by a spike in shipment of rice, fruits and vegetables, livestock and dairy products. In stock specific development, Alembic Pharma traded higher as it reported a net profit of Rs 153 crore for the quarter ended March 2023, compare with Rs 22 crore in the year-ago quarter.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61563.99, up by 509.70 points or 0.83% after trading in a range of 61166.09 and 61567.56. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.67%, while Small cap index was up by 0.67%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.41%, Realty up by 1.33%, Auto up by 1.07%, FMCG up by 0.72% and Consumer Durables up by 0.59%, while there was no losers on the BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 4.93%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.92%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.92%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.69% and Bajaj Finance up by 1.60%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 0.58%, Asian Paints down by 0.40%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.38%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.01% and Infosys down by 0.00% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid global and domestic challenges, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman may review the state of the economy at a meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on May 08, 2023. The 27th meeting of the high-level panel will be attended by all financial sector regulators, including RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. This would be the first meeting of the FSDC after the passage of Rs 45 lakh crore Budget for 2023-24 with greater emphasis on capital expenditure with an outlay of Rs 10,00,961 crore. The FSDC is the apex body of sectoral regulators, headed by the Union finance minister.

The meeting will review the current global and domestic economic situation and financial stability issues, including those concerning banking and NBFCs in view of failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and liquidity pressure faced by Credit Suisse. The council would review the progress of measures approved earlier for further development of the financial sector and to achieve inclusive economic growth with macroeconomic stability.

The FSDC meeting will also review activities undertaken by the FSDC sub-committee chaired by the RBI governor and the action taken by members on the past decisions of FSDC. Besides RBI governor, Securities and Exchange Board of India chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) chairman Debasish Panda, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) chairman Ravi Mital and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority's newly appointed chairman Deepak Mohanty will attend the meeting.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18208.00, up by 139.00 points or 0.77% after trading in a range of 18100.30 and 18210.45. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 4.92%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.00%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.89%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.73% and Bajaj Finance up by 1.61%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 2.78%, Adani Enterprises down by 1.39%, Sun Pharma down by 0.60%, Asian Paints down by 0.42% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.34% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Hang Seng advanced 149.78 points or 0.75% to 20,199.09, Taiwan Weighted added 78.4 points or 0.5% to 15,704.47, Shanghai Composite strengthened 52.09 points or 1.54% to 3,386.59 and KOSPI increased 19.64 points or 0.79% to 2,520.58. On the other hand, Straits Times fell 4.69 points or 0.14% to 3,261.94, Jakarta Composite plunged 11.36 points or 0.17% to 6,776.27 and Nikkei 225 slipped 203.01 points or 0.7% to 28,954.94.