Benchmarks continue to trade higher in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade higher in morning deals, amid optimistic trend in global markets. Traders took support with a private report that India’s manufacturing, agriculture, and services sector activities are likely to sustain growth in FY24 on the back of private investments and improved high-frequency data, although headwinds of slowing exports, a global slowdown, and monsoon uncertainty may continue. Some support also came with Secretary in the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) Rajesh Kumar Singh’s statement that an inter-ministerial consultation is going on to frame an e-commerce policy which would help in providing a conducive environment for inclusive and harmonious growth of the sector. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green on optimism the Federal Reserve would pause its rate hikes this month after a mixed U.S. jobs report. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 62886.01, up by 338.90 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 62751.72 and 62915.09. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.34%, while Small cap index was up by 0.67%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.08%, Capital Goods up by 0.99%, Auto up by 0.99%, Industrials up by 0.97% and Power up by 0.78%, while Realty down by 0.34%, Metal down by 0.15% and FMCG down by 0.01% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.46%, Axis Bank up by 2.25%, Sun Pharma Inds. up by 1.27%, ICICI Bank up by 1.20% and Power Grid Corporation up by 1.19%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 0.66%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.60%, Asian Paints down by 0.53%, Titan Company down by 0.18% and Nestle down by 0.01% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in its latest report for April 2023 has said as many as 379 infrastructure projects, each entailing an investment of Rs 150 crore or more, have been hit by cost overruns of more than Rs 4.64 lakh crore in April 2023. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, which monitors infrastructure projects worth Rs 150 crore and above, out of 1,605 projects, 379 reported cost overruns and as many as 800 projects were delayed.

It mentioned total original cost of implementation of the 1,605 projects was Rs 22,85,674.25 crore and their anticipated completion cost is likely to be Rs 27,50,591.38 crore, which reflects overall cost overruns of Rs 4,64,917.13 crore (20.34 per cent of original cost). According to it, the expenditure incurred on these projects till April 2023 was Rs 14,13,592.88 crore, which was 51.39 per cent of the anticipated cost of the projects. However, it stated that the number of delayed projects decreases to 598 if delay is calculated on the basis of the latest schedule of completion.

Further, it stated that for 413 projects neither the year of commissioning nor the tentative gestation period has been reported. Out of the 800 delayed projects, 194 have overall delays in the range of 1-12 months, 175 have been delayed for 13-24 months, 306 projects for 25-60 months and 125 projects have been delayed for more than 60 months. The average time overrun in these 800 delayed projects was 37.07 months. 

It said reasons for time overruns as reported by various project implementing agencies include delay in land acquisition, delay in obtaining forest and environment clearances, and lack of infrastructure support and linkages. Delay in tie-up for project financing, finalisation of detailed engineering, change in scope, tendering, ordering and equipment supply, and law and order problems were among the other reasons. It also cited state-wise lockdowns due to COVID-19 (imposed in 2020 and 2021) as a reason for the delay in implementation of these projects.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18624.25, up by 90.15 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 18582.80 and 18636.15. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.50%, Axis Bank up by 2.21%, Adani Enterprises up by 1.87%, Grasim Industries up by 1.47% and Sun Pharma up by 1.24%. On the flip side, Divi's Lab down by 1.31%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.93%, BPCL down by 0.76%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.57% and Asian Paints down by 0.54% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 594.35 points or 1.89% to 32,118.57, Hang Seng advanced 102.43 points or 0.54% to 19,052.37, Taiwan Weighted added 47.43 points or 0.28% to 16,754.34, Straits Times rose 22.48 points or 0.71% to 3,188.78, KOSPI increased 13.57 points or 0.52% to 2,614.93 and Shanghai Composite was up by 2.74 points or 0.08% to 3,232.81.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite was down by 5.75 points or 0.09% to 6,627.51.