Markets wipe out opening gains; trade flat with negative bias in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made a positive start on Wednesday. Sentiments got some support with a private report that India's consumer inflation likely cooled to an 18-month low in April as rises in food and fuel prices moderated, keeping it below the Reserve Bank of India's upper tolerance limit for the second consecutive month. Soon, domestic indices wiped out their gains and are trading flat with negative bias in early deals amid weakness in Asian counterparts. Investors are indulging in selling risker assets ahead of concerns over interest rates outlook globally. The U.S. inflation data due out later in the day could influence the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path. There are also concerns after U.S. President Joe Biden and top lawmakers failed to break a deadlock on the US debt ceiling crisis that could result in default if not addressed.

Back home, the commerce ministry’s arm DGTR has recommended imposition of anti-dumping duty on imports of a certain type of optical fibres from China, Korea and Indonesia to protect the domestic industry from cheap inbound shipments. In stock specific development, Apollo Tyres tumbled despite reporting a four-fold increase in Q4 net profit.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61713.30, down by 48.03 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 61651.16 and 61965.56. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.13%, while Small cap index was down by 0.17%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 0.28%, Energy up by 0.23%, FMCG up by 0.19%, Realty up by 0.12%, Power up by 0.08%, while PSU down by 0.53%, Metal down by 0.39%, Bankex down by 0.34%, TECK down by 0.24%, Telecom down by 0.21% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 1.57%, Power Grid up by 1.03%, Tata Motors up by 0.83%, Reliance Industries up by 0.56% and Ultratech Cement up by 0.44%. On the flip side, SBI down by 1.24%, Axis Bank down by 0.79%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.64%, Tata Steel down by 0.55% and Infosys down by 0.51% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Rajesh Kumar Singh has said the free trade agreement between India and the UAE has transformed the partnership between the two countries by promoting two-way commerce at a healthy rate. The agreement came into force on May 1 last year. 

He said that initial gains of the pact have already started accruing with bilateral trade growing at around 20 per cent and touching an all-time high of around $84 billion during 2022-23.

Singh, along with Juma Mohammed Al-Kait, Assistant Undersecretary for International Trade, Ministry of Economy, United Arab Emirates and Sunjay Sudhir, Ambassador of India to the UAE, inaugurated the International Jewellery Exposition Centre in Dubai. Around 100 companies from India and UAE, including representatives from Export Promotion Councils from India, have participated in the expo.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18248.70, down by 17.25 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 18232.60 and 18323.15. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 1.50%, Power Grid up by 0.94%, Britannia Industries up by 0.83%, Tata Motors up by 0.81% and HDFC Life Insurance up by 0.71%. On the flip side, UPL down by 1.58%, SBI down by 1.38%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.03%, Axis Bank down by 0.79% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 158.42 points or 0.54% to 29,084.40, Hang Seng declined 147.18 points or 0.74% to 19,720.40, Taiwan Weighted lost 134.56 points or 0.86% to 15,593.14, Shanghai Composite weakened 46.91 points or 1.42% to 3,310.76 and KOSPI was down by 4.46 points or 0.18% to 2,505.60. On the other hand, Jakarta Composite gained 29.1 points or 0.43% to 6,809.08 and Straits Times was up by 2.94 points or 0.09% to 3,245.89.