Sluggishness continues on Dalal Street in noon deals

Indian equities continued to trade lethargic in noon deals with key gauges trading with a cut of around quarter a percent as traders awaiting more Q4 earnings from India Inc. for further cues, with Bharti Airtel and LIC Housing Finance due to post its earnings later in the day. Traders continued to remain concerned with report that India’s exports contracted by 12.7 per cent, third month in a row, to $34.66 billion in April even as the trade deficit reduced to a 20-month low of $15.24 billion. The decline in exports is mainly on account of poor demand in India’s key destinations - the Europe and the US - and it may take some more months for the situation to improve. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed at this point of time amid concerns US lawmakers remain far apart in their bid to raise the country's borrowing limit to avert a default. Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, again said the government would likely run out of cash on 1 June, sparking a potentially devastating default. Back home, sentiments remained dampened with private weather forecaster suggesting that southwest monsoon might be delayed and weak, and needs to be watched closely.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62189.84, down by 155.87 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 62155.12 and 62475.95. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.68%, while Small cap index was up by 0.55%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 0.69%, Industrials up by 0.68%, IT up by 0.57%, Power up by 0.51% and Realty up by 0.46%, while Auto down by 0.16%, Bankex down by 0.06%, FMCG down by 0.02% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.58%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.96%, Infosys up by 0.83%, ICICI Bank up by 0.68% and NTPC up by 0.54%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 1.69%, HDFC Bank down by 1.26%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.15%, Power Grid down by 1.09% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.80% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to boost exports, the exporters body Apparel Export Promotion Council of India (AEPC) is promoting sustainable manufacturing practices such as usage of environment- friendly technologies to reduce carbon emission in different garment clusters of the country. A series of deliberations with all stakeholders, including brands, associations, and industry are being held by AEPC on the subject.

Further, the exporters body is informing the industry about adopting sustainability practices such as ways to promote water and energy conservation, waste water management and chemical management, monitoring of carbon emission, and certification for green building.

The exercise assumes significance as the European Union (EU), a key export destination for India, has decided to impose carbon tax on imported goods if their manufacturing process involves polluting practices. The EU accounts for about 18 per cent of the country's total exports.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18361.95, down by 36.90 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 18347.30 and 18432.35. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 1.57%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.56%, BPCL up by 1.34%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.95% and Hindalco up by 0.89%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 1.67%, HDFC Bank down by 1.28%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.17%, Power Grid down by 1.13% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.83% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed, Hang Seng declined 64.2 points or 0.32% to 19,906.93, Jakarta Composite plunged 41.5 points or 0.62% to 6,670.24, Shanghai Composite weakened 27.82 points or 0.84% to 3,282.92 and Straits Times was down by 2.03 points or 0.06% to 3,212.69. On the flip side, KOSPI increased 0.89 points or 0.04% to 2,480.24, Taiwan Weighted added 198.85 points or 1.27% to 15,673.90 and Nikkei 225 was up by 216.65 points or 0.73% to 29,842.99.