Domestic bourses trade flat in noon deals ahead of macro-economic data

Indian equity benchmarks are trading near neutral lines as traders remained on sidelines ahead of macro-economic data i.e. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of April and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) scheduled to be release on May 12, 2023. However, overall domestic sentiment improved after US inflation in April eased to 4.90 per cent. Traders are also reacting to mixed Q4 earnings updates from some of the corporates. Godrej Consumer Products edged higher on reporting decent earnings growth, while Dr Reddy's Laboratories plunged after its fourth-quarter profit lagged Street’s estimates. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red despite the positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious and asses the global economic and monetary policy outlook after US inflation slows to below 5 percent for the first time two years. Traders worry the slowdown in the pace of price growth is partly due to the U.S. heading for a recession.

Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61956.43, up by 16.23 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 61868.89 and 62168.22. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.32%, while Small cap index was up by 0.68%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.03%, Utilities up by 0.90%, Oil & Gas up by 0.54%, PSU up by 0.52% and IT up by 0.44%, while Capital Goods down by 2.03%, Industrials down by 1.00%, Metal down by 0.89%, Healthcare down by 0.55% and Auto down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 1.24%, Indusind Bank up by 1.22%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.07%, HCL Tech up by 0.96% and Asian Paints up by 0.73%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 5.13%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.99%, Tata Motors down by 0.52%, ITC down by 0.40% and Nestle down by 0.32% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that the Indian commercial vehicle (CV) industry volumes are likely to grow in the range of 7-10% in FY24, propelled by replacement demand, pick-up in mining, infrastructure, and construction activities, and overall healthy fleet utilisation levels. It noted that this is despite the 5% YoY and 41% sequential contraction in volumes in April 2023 due to expected price increases with the transition to BS6 2.0 and associated pre-buying in March 2023. 

According to the report, the growth in FY24 would follow a year of healthy demand in FY23, wherein the industry volumes expanded by more than 33%, supported by a favourable base, as well as a healthy pick-up in macroeconomic activity. It stated that the scrappage policy, which was announced in March 2021, has been implemented from April 1, 2023, and is likely to contribute to the growth of new CV sales. It is being implemented in phases, primarily with a view to reducing the carbon footprint. In the first phase, it has been proposed to mandatorily scrap Government vehicles older than 15 years from April 1, 2023, which has a potential to replace 9 lakh vehicles. The second phase mandates scrapping based on vehicle fitness. 

Accordingly, the report said heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs) older than 15 years and other vehicles older than 20 years need to undergo a mandatory fitness test from October 1, 2024. Although voluntary in nature, several measures have been proposed to incentivise scrapping of older vehicles - including hike in fitness certificate, renewal fees, and levy of green tax on older vehicles, increasing their cost of ownership. Further, it said on submission of the scrapping certificate, new vehicle purchases would be eligible for discounts from the OEMs, road tax rebate, and registration fee waiver.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18312.65, down by 2.45 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 18289.35 and 18389.70. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 4.93%, Adani Ports up by 2.74%, Indusind Bank up by 1.23%, NTPC up by 1.16% and Hindustan Unilever up by 1.04%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 6.35%, Larsen & Toubro down by 5.05%, Hindalco down by 3.46%, Divi's Lab down by 1.05% and JSW Steel down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red, Hang Seng declined 173.71 points or 0.88% to 19,588.49, Taiwan Weighted lost 127.12 points or 0.82% to 15,514.64, Jakarta Composite plunged 77.59 points or 1.14% to 6,734.32, Straits Times fell 20.66 points or 0.64% to 3,221.63, Shanghai Composite weakened 9.67 points or 0.29% to 3,309.48 and KOSPI was down by 5.51 points or 0.22% to 2,491.00. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was up by 4.54 points or 0.02% to 29,126.72.