Markets trade above neutral lines after cautious start

Indian equity benchmarks made cautious start on Thursday tracking overnight losses on Wall Street and ahead of weekly F&O expiry later in the day. At this point of trade, markets are trading above neutral lines with marginal gains. Buying at Realty, IT and Healthcare counters supporting the indices, whereas selling in Metal, Bankex and Telecom stocks limit the gains. Initially, some cautiousness came in as the government data showed that the production growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to a six-month low of 3.5 per cent in April 2023 due to a decline in the output of crude oil, natural gas, refinery products and electricity. However, later market participants took some comfort with report that the vote to raise the debt ceiling was passed in the US House of Representatives. Some respite also came in as India’s economic growth shot up by 6.1 per cent in the March quarter of FY23, beating street’s expectations, as the expansion in manufacturing and construction surprised on the upside, reflecting sustained strength in domestic demand amid a gloomy global outlook. Besides, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran said the momentum is expected to continue in the current fiscal year (FY24) with solid growth prospects, on the back of higher-than-expected economic growth in FY23. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly higher, despite the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, as traders react to the passage of the US debt ceiling bill by the U.S. House of Representatives by a wide margin. Indonesia market is closed for Pancasila Day holiday. Back home, investors are eyeing the manufacturing PMI data to be out later in the day for more cues. Besides, the Centre’s fiscal deficit narrowed to 6.4 per cent of the GDP in 2022-23 from 6.71 per cent in FY22, as anticipated by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget in February this year. Auto stocks were in focus reacting to their monthly sales numbers. In stock specific developments, Coal India dropped as the government's OFS floor price of Rs 225 per share, was 7 per cent below its last closing price of Rs 241. Laurus Labs gained it plans to acquire 7.2% stake in ImmunoACT.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62696.68, up by 74.44 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 62526.18 and 62750.93. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.39%, while Small cap index was up by 0.67%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.45%, IT up by 0.88%, Healthcare up by 0.80%, Consumer Durables up by 0.78% and Utilities up by 0.62%, while Metal down by 0.45%, Bankex down by 0.15%, Telecom down by 0.13% and Energy down by 0.05% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 1.46%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.40%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.38%, TCS up by 1.21% and Wipro up by 0.97%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 3.37%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.38%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.94%, Power Grid down by 0.54% and Indusind Bank down by 0.51% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, beating street estimates, India’s economic growth measured in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) surged to 6.1 per cent in the March quarter of fiscal year 2022-23 (Q4FY23). In Q4FY22, gross domestic product (GDP) growth was 4 per cent. Sequentially, in quarterly terms in 2022-23, the economy grew 13.1 per cent in April-June (earlier 13.2 per cent), 6.2 per cent in July-September (earlier 6.3 per cent), 4.5 per cent in October-December (earlier 4.4 per cent). The growth was boosted with expansion in agriculture and growth in manufacturing. Other sectors of the economy - construction, services and mining - too posted handsome growth rates.

For the full 2022-23 fiscal (April 2022 to March 2023), the growth now stands revised to 7.2 per cent, above the earlier projection of 7 per cent but lower than the 9.1 per cent expansion in 2021-22. This helped it maintain the tag of the fastest-growing emerging economy. China grew by 4.5 per cent in the first three months of 2023. After this, the Indian economy is now $3.3 trillion in size. High-frequency indicators showed the economy gaining momentum in April thanks to higher tax collections and a booming services sector. But exports and imports declined, smudging the outlook. 

As per the data, Real GDP or GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in the year 2022-23 is estimated to attain a level of Rs 160.06 lakh crore, as against the First Revised Estimates of GDP for the year 2021-22 of Rs 149.26 lakh crore. The growth in real GDP during 2022-23 is estimated at 7.2 per cent as compared to 9.1 per cent in 2021-22. Nominal GDP or GDP at Current Prices in the year 2022-23 is estimated to attain a level of Rs 272.41 lakh crore, as against Rs 234.71 lakh crore in 2021-22, showing a growth rate of 16.1 percent. GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in Q4 2022-23 is estimated at Rs 43.62 lakh crore, as against Rs 41.12 lakh crore in Q4 2021-22, showing a growth of 6.1 percent. GDP at Current Prices in Q4 2022-23 is estimated at Rs 71.82 lakh crore, as against Rs 65.05 lakh crore in Q4 2021-22, showing a growth of 10.4 percent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18565.60, up by 31.20 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 18514.40 and 18580.00. There were 30 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining, while 1 stock reamin unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Apollo Hospital up by 3.72%, Divi's Lab up by 2.80%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.73%, Asian Paints up by 1.63% and Bajaj Auto up by 1.40%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 4.17%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.36%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.51%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.09% and Britannia down by 0.91% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 221.63 points or 0.72% to 31,109.51, Hang Seng advanced 149.2 points or 0.82% to 18,383.47, Shanghai Composite strengthened 13.86 points or 0.43% to 3,218.42 and Straits Times rose 7.78 points or 0.25% to 3,166.58. On the other hand, KOSPI dropped 7.42 points or 0.29% to 2,569.70 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 63.76 points or 0.38% to 16,515.20.