Domestic indices maintain gains in afternoon session

Domestic equity indices maintained their solid gains in afternoon session on account of hectic buying by funds and retail investors. Meanwhile, the session was also proving good for broader indices on the BSE which were trading with gain in the range of 0.50-0.55%. Sentiments got boost as Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) pumped Rs 37,316 crore in Indian equities in May so far, primarily due to strong macroeconomic fundamentals and reasonable valuation of stocks. This is the highest investment by FPIs in the last six months. Before this, they made a net investment of Rs 36,239 crore in equities in November 2022. Further, support also came in as Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said India is all set to become the fourth largest economy in world within two years. India is being seen as a bright spot globally and the world is placing its confidence in India, he said, urging people to continue posing their faith in the decisive leadership that will take the nation to new highs by 2047.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed after U.S President Joe Biden and congressional leaders reached a tentative deal to raise the debt ceiling over the weekend. The bill is expected to be voted on later this week. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in Metal, Bankex, Consumer Durables, FMCG and PSU, while selling was witnessed in Oil & Gas, Energy, IT, Healthcare and TECK. In the stock specific devolvement, ONGC tumbled after posting a surprise loss in the March quarter.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62963.43, up by 461.74 points or 0.74% after trading in a range of 62801.54 and 63026.00. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.52%, while Small cap index up by 0.51%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.44%, Bankex up by 0.90%, Consumer Durables up by 0.88%, FMCG up by 0.83% and PSU up by 0.80%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.78%, Energy down by 0.27%, IT down by 0.10%, Healthcare down by 0.09%, and TECK down by 0.06% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.60%, Indusind Bank up by 1.88%, NTPC up by 1.75%, HDFC up by 1.68% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.62%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 1.54%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.55%, HCL down by 0.54%, Infosys down by 0.23% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.12% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry has said that members of the 14-nation bloc IPEF have 'substantially' concluded the negotiations on the supply chains agreement, including improving logistics and connectivity; promoting investments in critical sectors and cooperation for mitigation of disruptions to ensure business continuity. The IPEF was launched jointly by the US and other partner countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May 23 in Tokyo. The framework is structured around four pillars relating to trade, supply chains, clean economy and fair economy (issues like tax and anti-corruption). India has joined all the pillars except the trade one.

The proposed agreement on supply chains aims to increase the resilience, efficiency, productivity, sustainability, transparency, diversification, security, fairness and inclusivity of their supply chains through collaborative activities and individual actions taken by each IPEF partner. IPEF partners will undertake the necessary steps, including further domestic consultations and a legal review, to prepare a final text of the proposed IPEF supply chain agreement. 

Once finalised, the proposed agreement will be subject to IPEF partners' domestic processes for signature, followed by ratification, acceptance or approval. Under this pact, the partners also seek to improve crisis coordination and response to supply chain disruptions and work together to support the timely delivery of affected goods during a crisis. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18625.55, up by 126.20 points or 0.68% after trading in a range of 18584.45 and 18641.20. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.54%, Hindalco up by 2.60%, Indusind Bank up by 1.92%, HDFC up by 1.68% and SBI Life Insuran up by 1.66%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 2.84%, Sun Pharma down by 1.47%, Divi's Lab down by 0.90%, HCL down by 0.65% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.62% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 131.25 points or 0.79% to 16,636.30, Shanghai Composite strengthened 9.26 points or 0.29% to 3,221.76 and Nikkei 225 surged 317.23 points or 1.02% to 31,233.54. However, Hang Seng declined 142.59 points or 0.76% to 18,604.33, Jakarta Composite plunged 45.76 points or 0.69% to 6,641.24 and Straits Times fell 3.41 points or 0.11% to 3,203.98.