Sensex, Nifty stage recovery in early noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks staged recovery in early afternoon deals, aided by buying at Consumer Durables and Auto counters, despite negative cues from other Asian markets. Traders were taking a note of private report that the commerce ministry has stepped in to cut India’s ballooning trade deficit with Russia, asking all Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) to identify additional products India can sell to Russia to expand its own exports. Meanwhile, another private report showed that Indian-owned companies operating in the UK have hit a record high of 954 this year, registering a significant increase over the previous year.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, even after a measure of public opinion about the Japanese economy strengthened in April to hit its highest level in over a year. The survey data from the Cabinet Office showed that the current conditions index of the Economy Watchers' Survey, which measures the present situation of the economy, climbed to 54.6 in April from 53.3 in March. A reading above 50 indicates optimism.

Back home, on the sectoral front, auto industry stocks were in watch, as industry body SIAM said that domestic passenger vehicle dispatches witnessed a 13 per cent year-on-year rise in April as demand remained robust across segments. The total passenger vehicle dispatches from companies to dealers rose to 3,31,278 units last month compared to 2,93,303 units in April 2022.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61858.30, down by 46.22 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 61578.15 and 61904.10. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.05%, while Small cap index up by 0.11%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.70%, Auto up by 0.58%, Healthcare up by 0.48%, FMCG up by 0.28% and Bankex up by 0.11%, while Utilities down by 1.68%, Metal down by 1.55%, Oil & Gas down by 1.27%, Power down by 1.15% and Energy down by 0.96% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 1.44%, HCL Technologies up by 0.97%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.95%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.80% and Axis Bank up by 0.74%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation of India down by 2.45%, NTPC down by 2.12%, Tata Steel down by 1.70%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.15% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.52% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said that India will soon have a talent pool of 85,000 in the semiconductor space, who will not only create innovative designs and solutions for the country but also for the world. 

The minister said that India's 'Techade' is changing the narrative of the country being a IT/ITES hub and now it has broadened to include the internet and consumer-tech and will also cover AI, semicon design and production, quantum computing etc. He also said ‘our digital economy pie has transitioned from a unipolar prism of IT/ITES to one that consists of almost every activity in the digital economy space that the world is pursuing.’ 

Talking on the Digital India Act (DIA), he said it is going to supersede the IT Act, which has gone into the pre-consultation phase. He further said ‘we have already had some fruitful discussions. We want to be transparent and collaborative about it. The laws and framework of policies we are creating are not just for today but for the next decade.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18277.80, down by 19.20 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 18194.55 and 18291.15. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 5.85%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.40%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.10%, HCL Technologies up by 1.06% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.99%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 3.08%, BPCL down by 3.03%, Power Grid Corporation of India down by 2.37%, NTPC down by 2.23% and Tata Steel down by 1.70% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 94.93 points or 0.48% to 19,648.86, Jakarta Composite plunged 32.26 points or 0.48% to 6,723.68, Shanghai Composite weakened 31.01 points or 0.94% to 3,278.54, Straits Times fell 22.68 points or 0.7% to 3,206.87, KOSPI dropped 15.58 points or 0.63% to 2,475.42 and Taiwan Weighted lost 12.28 points or 0.08% to 15,502.36, while Nikkei 225 surged 261.58 points or 0.89% to 29,388.30.