Bourses turn positive in late afternoon session

Indian markets erased all their early losses and turned positive in late afternoon session, supported by banking stocks. As for broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index continued to trade in red, while Small cap index traded in green. Traders were looking forward to macro-economic data -- consumer price index (CPI) and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) -- due to be released later in the day. Traders took a note of private report that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of G7 Finance Minister Central Bank Governors meet. She is on a two-day visit to Japan. The G7 meeting is taking place in Niigata. Sitharaman also met Brazilian counterpart Haddad Fernando on the sidelines of the G7FMCBG meet.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red amid worries about economic slowdown and renewed concerns about the turmoil in the US banking sector. European markets were trading higher after upbeat results from Richemont underscored strength in the luxury sector, while investors assessed inflation data from France and Spain for signals on the European Central Bank's interest rate hike plans.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62047.31, up by 142.79 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 61578.15 and 62110.93. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.14%, while Small cap index was up by 0.10%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.81%, Auto up by 0.76%, Consumer Durables up by 0.53%, Healthcare up by 0.24% and FMCG was up by 0.24%, while Utilities down by 1.73%, Metal down by 1.28%, Power down by 1.24%, Oil & Gas down by 1.12% and Energy was down by 0.76% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 1.86%, Indusind Bank up by 1.45%, Tata Motors up by 1.40%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.26% and Hindustan Unilever up by 1.22%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 2.80%, NTPC down by 2.28%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.46%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.32% and Tata Steel down by 1.06% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid robust demand, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in its latest report has showed that domestic passenger vehicle dispatches from companies to dealers surged 13 per cent year-on-year to 3,31,278 units in April 2023 compared to 2,93,303 units in April 2022.

According to the report, two-wheeler dispatches last month also increased by 15 per cent to 13,38,588 units from 11,62,582 units a year ago. Motorcycle wholesales rose to 8,39,274 units last month from 7,35,360 units in April 2022.  

The report noted that similarly, scooter dispatches rose to 4,64,389 units in April against 3,88,442 units in the year-ago period. The total three-wheeler sales rose to 42,885 units last month from 20,997 units in April 2022.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18325.00, up by 28.00 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 18194.55 and 18342.75. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 5.72%, Axis Bank up by 1.82%, Indusind Bank up by 1.47%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.36% and Tata Motors up by 1.25%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 3.41%, BPCL down by 3.13%, Power Grid down by 2.74%, NTPC down by 2.31% and Ultratech Cement down by 1.46% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 116.55 points or 0.59% to 19,627.24, Jakarta Composite plunged 41.1 points or 0.61% to 6,714.84, Shanghai Composite weakened 37.19 points or 1.14% to 3,272.36, Straits Times fell 23.84 points or 0.74% to 3,205.71, KOSPI dropped 15.58 points or 0.63% to 2,475.42 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 12.28 points or 0.08% to 15,502.36. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was up by 261.58 points or 0.89% to 29,388.30.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 35.81 points or 0.46% to 7,766.39, France’s CAC rose 70.83 points or 0.95% to 7,452.61 and Germany’s DAX was up by 95.35 points or 0.6% to 15,930.26.