Bourses continue to trade with limited gains in late afternoon session

Bourses continued to trade with limited gains in late afternoon session, as traders preferred to play safe ahead of CPI data from India scheduled to be released on May 12, 2023. Buying in banking and IT stocks also helped markets to trade above neutral lines, while huge selling in metal counter forced the markets to trade with restricted gains. Traders took note of private report that India has set a deadline of 2035 to establish green hydrogen bunkering and refuelling facilities at major ports in the drive to cut its carbon footprint. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as investors reacted to a mixed bag of corporate earnings from Japan and signs of growing deflationary pressures in China. European markets were trading higher as investors digested the latest U.S. inflation figures ahead of the latest Bank of England policy-setting meeting. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61,997.21, up by 57.01 points or 0.09% 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 0.38%, while Small cap index was up by 0.71%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 1.32%, Utilities up by 1.12%, Realty up by 0.70%, Bankex up by 0.68% and PSU was up by 0.65%, while Capital Goods down by 1.94%, Metal down by 1.08%, Industrials down by 0.98% and Healthcare down by 0.57% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.06%, Indusind Bank up by 1.73%, NTPC up by 1.64%, Asian Paints up by 1.61% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.36%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 5.10%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.83%, ITC down by 0.68%, Tata Steel down by 0.50% and Nestle down by 0.36% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union MSME minister Narayan Rane has urged the global and domestic industries to continue to invest in India, which is on its path to become the third largest economy. He made the remarks at 'GIC 23 Intergovernmental Connect' organised by Inventivepreneur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) in association with the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME).

The minister said ‘from 10th largest in 2014, India today is 5th largest economy. Only Japan and Germany are ahead of us. We will become the 3rd largest by 2030 as envisioned by our prime minister.’ He said that immense business opportunities are available in various sectors in India and promised full support to investors looking to invest in the country.

He further stated that the country will see various industrial parks across various locations and the investors can explore business opportunities in this area. He also said the industry must identify areas where imports are happening and start producing such products to check inbound shipments.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18,317.30, up by 2.20 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 18289.35 and 18389.70. There were 32 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 5.07%, Adani Ports up by 2.57%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.09%, Indusind Bank up by 1.83% and Asian Paints up by 1.53%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 6.60%, Larsen & Toubro down by 5.02%, Hindalco down by 3.71%, Divi's Lab down by 2.49% and JSW Steel down by 1.43% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Taiwan Weighted lost 127.12 points or 0.82% to 15,514.64, Jakarta Composite plunged 70.78 points or 1.05% to 6,741.13, Hang Seng declined 18.41 points or 0.09% to 19,743.79, Straits Times fell 14.95 points or 0.46% to 3,227.34, Shanghai Composite weakened 9.6 points or 0.29% to 3,309.55 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.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 20.83 points or 0.27% to 7,762.16, France’s CAC rose 49.09 points or 0.66% to 7,410.29 and Germany’s DAX was up by 12.39 points or 0.08% to 15,908.62.