Domestic markets trade lower with cut of over quarter percent

Domestic equity indices remained in red and were trading with cut of over quarter a percent in afternoon session on account of selling in Tata Motors, Indusind Bank and HDFC stocks. Weak cues from global markets weighted on domestic sentiments. Lingering concerns about lawmakers' ability to reach an agreement on increasing the U.S. debt ceiling continued to weigh on markets. Sentiments remained weak as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed that for the first time in a decade, the gross foreign direct investment (FDI) flows witnessed a decline of 16 per cent to $71 billion in FY23. On the BSE sectoral front, Telecom, Realty, FMCG, Healthcare and Industrials were trading in the positive territory, while Metal, Oil & Gas, Energy, Bankex and IT were trading in the negative territory. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green amid lingering concerns over the U.S. debt ceiling negotiations and as the Bank of Korea held its benchmark interest rate steady for the third consecutive time. Back home, in the stock specific development, Life Insurance Corp (LIC) surged after it reported standalone net profit of Rs 13,428 crore for the quarter ended March. The profit grew 466% from Rs 2,371 crore in the same quarter of last year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61591.11, down by 182.67 points or 0.30% after trading in a range of 61534.10 and 61827.51. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.11%, while Small cap index up by 0.24%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.47%, Realty up by 0.76%, FMCG up by 0.57%, Healthcare up by 0.09% and Industrials up by 0.02%, while Metal down by 0.75%, Oil & Gas down by 0.48%, Energy down by 0.42%, Bankex down by 0.37% and IT down by 0.30% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 2.12%, ITC up by 1.65%, Power Grid up by 0.95%, Nestle up by 0.60% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.51%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.92%, Indusind Bank down by 1.32%, HDFC down by 1.12%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.96% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.92% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, commerce and industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India has a strong foreign exchange reserve and the country is in a comfortable position to meet all the requirements even in any worst-case scenario in the next five-six years. India's forex kitty jumped $3.553 billion to $599.529 billion for the week ended May 12, according to the Reserve Bank of India.

The minister also said that the government efforts have helped in managing inflation and 'I am happy that it has been respected and recognised by the RBI (as) they have also taken a pause on the interest rates during the last MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) meeting'.

Further, he stated no other developing country in the world is in such a 'sweet spot' and it was the first time in many years that business persons are seeing interest rates almost at par with developed countries. Moreover, he stated ‘I believe this is a compelling case for investments, for growth and for expanding our international outreach, for bringing technology, for bringing innovation into the country’.

Besides, he said that India's trading partners want India to fast track negotiations for free trade agreements (FTAs). India is at present negotiating such agreements with nations including Canada, EFTA (European Free Trade Association), the UK, and the European Union (EU).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18233.35, down by 52.05 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 18213.00 and 18303.80. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 2.05%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.03%, ITC up by 1.68%, Divi's Lab up by 1.63% and Power Grid up by 1.00%. On the flip side, Adani Enterprises down by 2.16%, Hindalco down by 1.92%, Tata Motors down by 1.88%, Indusind Bank down by 1.27% and HDFC down by 1.19% were the top losers.  

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 484.3 points or 2.53% to 18,631.63, Shanghai Composite weakened 34.54 points or 1.08% to 3,170.21, KOSPI dropped 6.84 points or 0.27% to 2,560.61, Jakarta Composite plunged 26.08 points or 0.39% to 6,719.72 and Straits Times fell 4.55 points or 0.14% to 3,209.66. However, Nikkei 225 surged 118.45 points or 0.38% to 30,801.13 and Taiwan Weighted added 132.68 points or 0.81% to 16,292.00.