Domestic indices remain in green in late morning session

Domestic equity indices remained in green and were trading slightly higher in late morning deals, as traders took some support with encouraging Q4 GDP data and easing U.S. debt worries. 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. However, gains remained limited as the output of eight core industries 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. The core sector growth was 9.5 per cent in April 2022. Traders were seen pilling up position in Realty, IT, Healthcare, Consumer Durables and Utilities, while selling was witnessed in Metal, Energy, Bankex and Telecom. 

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly higher after the bill to raise the U.S. debt ceiling was passed in the House of Representatives, advancing it to the Senate just days ahead of the default deadline. Back home, in the stock specific development, Coal India (CIL) slipped as the government began offloading its 3 per cent stake, using the offer for sale (OFS) mechanism, starting today.  

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62709.08, up by 86.84 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 62526.18 and 62762.41. 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 0.40%, while Small cap index up by 0.80%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.25%, IT up by 0.79%, Healthcare up by 0.71%, Consumer Durables up by 0.67% and Utilities up by 0.64%, while Metal down by 0.68%, Energy down by 0.24%, Bankex down by 0.15% and Telecom down by 0.09% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.41%, Asian Paints up by 1.33%, TCS up by 1.26%, HDFC up by 0.88% and Nestle up by 0.74%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 3.20%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.86%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.06%, ITC down by 0.79% and HCL down by 0.58% were the top losers. 

Meanwhile, the output of eight core industries 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. The core sector growth was 9.5 per cent in April 2022, while in March 2023, the key infra sectors recorded a growth rate of 3.6 per cent. The growth rate in April 2023 is the lowest since October 2022 when the sectors expanded by 0.7 per cent. The Eight Core Industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity - comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Coal production, having 10.33 per cent weight increased by 9.0 per cent in April, 2023 over April, 2022 and its cumulative index increased by 14.9 per cent during 2022-23 over corresponding period of the previous year. Fertilizers production, having 2.63 per cent weight increased by 23.5 per cent in April, 2023 over April, 2022 and its cumulative index increased by 11.3 per cent during 2022-23 over the corresponding period of previous year.

Steel production, having 17.92 per cent weight increased by 12.1 per cent in April, 2023 over April, 2022 and its cumulative index increased by 8.9 per cent during 2022-23 over the corresponding period of previous year. Cement production, having 5.37 per cent weight increased by 11.6 per cent in April, 2023 over April, 2022 and its cumulative index increased by 8.7 per cent during 2022-23 over the corresponding period of previous year.

However, Crude Oil production, having 8.98 per cent weight declined by 3.5 per cent in April, 2023 over April, 2022 and its cumulative index declined by 1.7 per cent during 2022-23 over the corresponding period of previous year. Natural Gas production, having 6.88 per cent weight declined by 2.8 per cent in April, 2023 over April, 2022. Its cumulative index increased by 1.6 per cent during 2022-23 over the corresponding period of previous year. Petroleum Refinery production, having 28.04 per cent weight declined by 1.5 per cent in April, 2023 over April, 2022 and its cumulative index increased by 4.8 per cent during 2022-23 over the corresponding period of previous year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18556.95, up by 22.55 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 18514.40 and 18580.30. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Apollo Hospital up by 3.96%, Divi's Lab up by 3.23%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.13%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.98% and Hero MotoCorp up by 1.46%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 4.54%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 3.85%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.34%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.15% and ITC down by 0.83% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly higher; Shanghai Composite strengthened 6.24 points or 0.19% to 3,210.80, Straits Times rose 0.51 points or 0.02% to 3,159.31, Nikkei 225 surged 241.61 points or 0.78% to 31,129.49 and Hang Seng advanced 141.21 points or 0.77% to 18,375.48, while KOSPI dropped 5.98 points or 0.23% to 2,571.14 and Taiwan Weighted lost 66.31 points or 0.4% to 16,512.65.