Bourses extend losses in late afternoon session

Indian markets extended losses in late afternoon session, hovering near the lowest point of the day on account of selling in frontline counters. However, the broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index continued to trade in green. Sentiments remain dampened, as 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. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed after Chinese economic data came in weaker than expected. Focus shifted to the U.S. debt ceiling talks as U.S. President Joe Biden and congressional leaders resume talks later in the day at the White House over the debt limit. European markets were trading mostly in green with technology stocks offsetting declines in automakers, while investors awaited more data on the euro zone economy to gauge how far the European Central Bank will keep hiking interest rates.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62129.04, down by 216.67 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 62078.11 and 62475.95. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.54%, while Small cap index was up by 0.45%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 0.94%, Industrials up by 0.57%, Power up by 0.49%, IT up by 0.46% and Realty was up by 0.38%, while Auto down by 0.30%, Bankex down by 0.05% and FMCG was down by 0.01% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.35%, SBI up by 1.07%, NTPC up by 0.88%, Infosys up by 0.66% and Bajaj Finserv up by 0.66%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 1.86%, HDFC Bank down by 1.45%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.15%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.11% and Reliance Industries down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry in its latest data has showed that India's exports to the UAE contracted by 22 per cent to $2.23 billion in April 2023 as against $2.86 billion in April 2022. Imports to the UAE also declined by 34.08 per cent to $3.15 billion in April 2023. Indian and the UAE have operationalised a comprehensive free trade agreement since May 1 last year. 

According to the data, India's exports to the UAE in 2022-23 rose by 11.8 per cent to $31.3 billion, while imports from that country grew by 18.8 per cent to $53.2 billion in the last fiscal due to increased inbound shipments of oil. Exports to the US also declined by 17.16 per cent to $5.9 billion in April 2023. Imports from America too decreased by 24.67 per cent to $3.14 billion in April this year.  

The other export destinations where the country's exports reported negative growth included China (4.31 per cent), Singapore (28.7 per cent), Bangladesh (43.31 per cent), and Germany (14.44 per cent) during the month under review. However, the shipments registered positive growth in the Netherlands, UK, Saudi Arabia, and Italy. On the other hand, imports from Russia jumped by 204 per cent to $4.98 billion due to increasing inbound shipments of crude oil from that country. However, imports from China, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Indonesia, Korea, and Singapore recorded negative growth in the month under review.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18345.95, down by 52.90 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 18327.65 and 18432.35. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were BPCL up by 1.85%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.43%, Coal India up by 1.39%, ONGC up by 1.36% and SBI up by 1.07%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 1.83%, HDFC Bank down by 1.38%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.17%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.12% and Reliance Industries down by 1.08% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Nikkei 225 surged 216.65 points or 0.73% to 29,842.99, Taiwan Weighted added 198.85 points or 1.27% to 15,673.90, Hang Seng advanced 7.12 points or 0.04% to 19,978.25 and KOSPI was up by 0.89 points or 0.04% to 2,480.24. On the flip side, Straits Times fell 2.5 points or 0.08% to 3,212.22, Shanghai Composite weakened 19.75 points or 0.6% to 3,290.99 and Jakarta Composite was down by 37.98 points or 0.57% to 6,673.76.

European markets were trading mostly in green, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 13.88 points or 0.18% to 7,791.58 and Germany’s DAX was up by 15.46 points or 0.1% to 15,932.70. On the flip side, France’s CAC was down by 4.9 points or 0.07% to 7,413.31.