Markets wipe out gains in late afternoon session

Indian markets erased their gains and traded near neutral lines in late afternoon session. Weakness in select Metal and Oil & Gas shares dragged key gauges lower, while buying in banking stocks helped markets to trade near neutral lines. Investors remained cautious, as a private report stated that the value of foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in Indian equities was at $542 billion in the March quarter of 2023, a decline of 11 per cent from the preceding year. Sector wise, fertilizer sector remained in focus, after Fertiliser Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that government will spend Rs 1.08 lakh crore towards fertiliser subsidy for 2023-24 Kharif season to ensure availability of the soil nutrients to farmers at existing prices. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green on hopes US political leaders can reach agreement to avoid a potentially disastrous default on government debt. European markets were trading higher with investors optimistic of a deal to lift the U.S. debt ceiling while awaiting comments from ECB chief Christine Lagarde.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61518.65, down by 41.99 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 61506.05 and 61955.90. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.37%, while Small cap index was down by 0.13%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.19% and TECK was up by 0.11%, while Realty down by 2.61%, Oil & Gas down by 1.19%, Power down by 1.06%, PSU down by 1.00% and Utilities was down by 1.00% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.29%, Asian Paints up by 0.90%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.90%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.78% and HCL Tech up by 0.73%. On the flip side, ITC down by 1.50%, SBI down by 1.48%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.26%, Titan Company down by 1.21% and Tata Motors down by 1.19% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in line with an aim to boost domestic manufacturing, the Union Cabinet has approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme 2.0 for IT Hardware with a budgetary outlay Rs 17,000 crore. PLI Scheme 2.0 for IT hardware covers laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs, servers and ultra-small form factor devices.

The scheme is expected to result in incremental production of Rs 3.35 lakh crore and incremental investment of Rs 2,430 crore during its tenure of 6 years. Furthermore, it aims to create employment opportunities for around 75,000 people within the next six years. Building on the success of Production Linked Incentive scheme for mobile phones, the Union Cabinet approved PLI Scheme 2.0 for IT hardware. 

Meanwhile, India is emerging as a trusted supply chain partner for all global majors. Large IT hardware companies have shown keen interest in establishing manufacturing facilities in India. This is further supported by strong IT services industry having good demand within the country. Most majors would like to supply domestic markets within India from a facility situated in India as well as make India an export hub.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18164.60, down by 17.15 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 18150.70 and 18297.20. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 1.31%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.93%, ICICI Bank up by 0.90%, Asian Paints up by 0.83% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.79%. On the flip side, Divi's Lab down by 3.09%, Adani Ports down by 2.20%, ITC down by 1.53%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.48% and Grasim Industries down by 1.41% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 480.34 points or 1.57% to 30,573.93, Taiwan Weighted added 176.59 points or 1.1% to 16,101.88, Hang Seng advanced 166.68 points or 0.84% to 19,727.25, KOSPI increased 20.74 points or 0.82% to 2,515.40, Straits Times rose 14.66 points or 0.46% to 3,188.50 and Shanghai Composite was up by 13.09 points or 0.4% to 3,297.32. 

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 49.9 points or 0.65% to 7,773.13, France’s CAC rose 67.13 points or 0.91% to 7,466.57 and Germany’s DAX was up by 228.97 points or 1.44% to 16,180.27.